A driver who decided to turn a rental car into a beach buggy on Kanokupolu Beach at the weekend found himself stuck in the sand and sloshed by the tide.

A witness said that the attention-seeking driver shattered the peace and quiet of the beach on Saturday at around 4:00 pm  - and then had to call for help when the two-door Mitsubishi car became stuck in the soft sand and was caught by a rising tide.

“It took several people to get it unstuck and onto dry land and it eventually got pulled onto solid ground by a tractor. Maybe the driver would have had second thoughts if it was his own car - but after all [he thought] it was just a rental,” the witness said.

There was a high spring tide of 1.63m on Saturday morning, followed by the evening high tide of 1.53m at 6:00 pm for Nuku'alofa.

A beach buggy is a modified recreational motor vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed specifically for use on sand dunes, beaches, or desert recreation - buggies are different from jeeps or cars, which are designed for on-road use.