Man drowns on French beach after getting stuck in enormous hole he dug in sand

A 21-year-old man drowned at a French beach after digging a large hole and then getting stuck in it when the tide came in.

He was unable to pull himself out of the hole as the water swamped him at Barbatre beach on the island of Noirmoutier on Sunday.

Emergency services descended on the beach after the man became trapped at around 5.30pm but could not rescue him in time.

A family member also tried in vain to pull him to safety, according to reports in the French press.

The local prosecutor’s office, which released details of the death, said the man “decided to dig quite a deep hole to stand in”.

The incident took place on a popular holiday island in the Bay of Biscay, on the French Atlantic coast.

The man has not been named.