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A body has been found during a search for a pensioner who failed to return from a coastal walk after becoming stuck in mud in the treacherous Solway Firth.

Shona Campbell alerted emergency services and told them she had encountered difficulties at the mouth of the River Nith near West Moss-Side Caravan Park, Annan, Dumfriesshire, on Monday.

Search and rescue crews traced the phone to the 74-year-old’s last known location and have been searching ever since.

But with freezing temperatures at night and mudflats in that part of the Solway Firth prone to quicksand, concerns are growing for the pensioner’s safety.

And at around 5.40pm yesterday, the body of a woman was found in the Solway Firth near Cummertrees, Annan.

Police Scotland said formal identification had yet to take place, with a spokesperson adding: ‘However, the family of 74-year-old Shona Campbell, who went missing in the area, have been informed.

“The death is being treated as unexplained but not considered suspicious and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”

Mrs Campbell, who was Scottish but lived on the Isle of Man, stayed at the caravan park in Cummertrees.

Shona Campbell, 74, called for help after getting into trouble at the mouth of the River Nith, in Anna, Dumfriesshire – but she is now missing

Freezing temperatures and mudflats in quicksand-prone areas of the Solway Firth have raised concerns about the safety of Shona Campbell

She called 999 at around 5pm and around 40 emergency services searched the area, including specialist police officers, coastguard teams, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Ambulance Service.

Police Scotland Inspector Amy Ritchie previously said they were doing everything they could to find her and were also supporting her family.

She added: “She was visiting the area and staying at West Moss-Side Caravan Park, Cummertrees.

‘From our investigation so far we know that Shona left the caravan park to go for a walk before she got into trouble and has not returned.

‘Local officers and search advisors are assisted by specialist resources.’

Ms Ritchie had urged anyone who may have seen the pensioner, or who had information about her whereabouts, to contact them.

Stewart Bryden, the Coastguard’s senior coastal operations officer, said the tides had been moving in and out since Ms Campbell went missing and despite an “extensive” search of the area there was initially no sign of her.

He told STV News at the scene yesterday: ‘Last night it was freezing, this morning we had frost, conditions out there could be grim.

“There’s a bit of quicksand, that’s our concern.”

The area off the coast is considered dangerous due to some of the fastest tidal movements in Europe.

Large areas of mudflats surround the estuaries of the River Nith and the River Annan, with many parts vulnerable to quicksand.

HM Coastguard said a search and rescue helicopter was sent from Prestwick in Ayrshire after a report of a woman stuck in mud near the mouth of the River Nith at around 5.15pm on Monday.

A spokesperson said: ‘Coastguard rescue teams were dispatched from Annan, Burgh-by-Sands and Portling, as well as the Nith Inshore Rescue lifeboat.

‘Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were also alerted.’

Mrs Campbell is said to have been a keen walker, covering several kilometers of coastline every day. The Solway Firth is Britain’s third largest estuary.

In May, a 42-year-old man died after two jet skis collided near a holiday park on the Firth. He was flown to hospital, but died from his injuries.

The incident happened near Auchenlarie Holiday Park, further west of where Ms Campbell was staying.

Three years earlier, twenty people had to be rescued after being cut off by the tide at Southerness Point.

The group of children and adults were stranded by the fast-moving waters of the Firth.