Footy legend Gavin Wanganeen almost loses his 4WD ute to the ocean while driving along the beach 

Former AFL star Gavin Wanganeen was given an almighty scare and almost lost his car after a leisurely drive by the beach went very wrong. 

Wanganeen was driving along the shore at Beachport on the South Australian coast along with some friends when they were caught out by the tide.

The Essendon and Port Adelaide great documented the incident on Instagram, with footage showing 4WD utes being stranded in the sand. 

Gavin Wanganeen was given a major scare when his car got stuck near the shore while driving along a beach in South Australia 

What initially looked to be little more than an inconvenience soon became far more worrying as crashing waves began pounding the cars, which looked on the verge of being swallowed up by the water. 

‘We have been bogged here,’ Wanganeen can be heard saying from the back of his vehicle.

‘Oh sh*t, it’s a bit worrying here.’

Speaking to the Sunday Mail, the 49-year-old admitted the speed at which the waves started to hit the beach caused some concern among the group. 

The former AFL great documented his ordeal on Instagram as his vehicle got bogged down

Footage shows the 4WD ute almost drifting out at sea after getting stuck 

Wanganeen’s car and his friends’ vehicles had to be rescued by a front-end loader

‘It was a bit worrying as there was a fast sea coming toward us, there were big seas and a lot of movement and the waves suddenly moved quite fast,’ he said.

‘But no-one was hurt, we were all OK.’

Eventually, the 49-year-old and his friends were rescued and the cars were dragged to safety by a front-end loader, but not without suffering significant damage. 

‘I’d really advise anyone with not much experience on beach driving to take it easy and ensure you have another vehicle following you in case something goes wrong – even the most experienced people can get into a bit of trouble suddenly,’ Wanganeen added. 

‘There were big seas, a lot of movement, and suddenly trouble.

Wanganeen, 49, played 300 AFL games – 127 for Essendon and 173 for Port Adelaide – and was part of the Bombers team that won the 1993 premiership and Port’s 2004 flag-winning side.