A pensioner who spent 40 minutes trapped in “waist-deep quicksand” on a patch of land near his home is calling for the “dangerous” site to be cordoned off.

William Gill of Kimberley Road, Chingford got stuck in the mud after retrieving a football kicked over the fence by students at nearby Heathcote School on Monday afternoon.

Mr Gill, 84 said he was “smothered in mud” and believes the sinking patch of mud may have been caused by a burst water main in the area.

“As soon as I stepped in the mud I went down – it was quicksand,” he said.

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“I couldn’t get out and I was struggling. The more I tried the more I sank.

“I was smothered in mud from neck to toe from trying to pull myself out.

“I did two years of national service and I’ve never come across anything like it.”

After his wife Bernadette, 70 began to sink while trying to pull Mr Gill out, she alerted passersby and staff at the school and asked them to assist in the rescue mission.

The couple, who have one son, also flagged down a Sainsbury’s delivery driver.

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Mr Gill poses in front of the patch of sinking mud with sticks protruding out of it. 

Mrs Gill said she feared her husband would catch a cold as he spent over half an hour lodged in the mud, unable to move.

“Every thought raced through me,” she said.

“I was very much scared and I was worried about my husband because he was coated with mud and it was cold. It came up to his waist.

“I started to sink when I tried to rescue him and the same thing happened to the Sainsbury’s guy.

“The staff at the school were wonderful. They got planks of wood and reached him and pulled him out. God forbid if it had been a small child who got stuck in there.”

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The couple were left with no choice but to walk home barefoot after losing their shoes in the ‘quicksand’.

They are now calling for the patch of grass to be sealed off to prevent something worse happening to someone else.

Mr Gill added: “At no time did I feel my life was in danger - I’m in my 80s and I can cope with life - but the area should definitely be cordoned off. It’s dangerous.

“If a child got stuck they might not be so lucky. It looks just like normal grass so you would never know.”

Waltham Forest Council has been contacted for comment.