A British woman was impaled by a beach umbrella and had to be freed with a bolt cutter, police in the US said.

Margaret Reynolds, 67, was at Seaside Heights in New Jersey on Monday when part of the umbrella pierced her right ankle and was driven completely through due to the "force of the wind", the Asbury Park Press reported.

Borough Police Chief Tommy Boyd said fire crews had to use a bolt cutter on the umbrella to free her, and then put her in an ambulance.