A terrified woman spent the night trapped in her car after it was washed away in floods which have swept across Shropshire.She was eventually rescued after police officers formed a human chain to reach her marooned vehicle. The 45-year-old woman was said to be exhausted but unhurt. The alarm was raised early today when a member of the public spotted her Vauxhall Astra.
The car was floating along at Billingsley, near Bridgnorth, and screams were heard coming from inside the car.
It is thought the Astra was washed 75 yards downstream as the woman tried to cross a ford last night. She was trapped at about 10pm and was unable to get a signal on her mobile telephone.
Constable Pete Wade was able to lean across, placing his foot on the car to then open the door.
He was then assisted by Constables Kevin Morris, Dave Round and Ian Cole in forming a chain.
Constable Wade said today: “Because it was pitch black and as the car had been spun round by the current, she had become disorientated and didn’t want to attempt stepping out.
“Even when it became daylight and she could see her predicament, she was too tired and exhausted to attempt leaving the car. She just couldn’t get out.”
Constable Wade said the water at the ford was about two feet deep, and where the car had come to a standstill, it was about three feet deep and running very fast.
He said: “It was a couple of yards from the bank. I managed to lean across and bang on the window. The windows were misted but I could see there was someone inside. I managed to put my foot on the arch of the wing and open the door.”
He said the car was gradually filling with water up to the seats.
A West Mercia Force spokesman said: “This incident illustrates the dangers of attempting to cross fords which are running high with flood water.
“Normally, these fords are only trickles and pose no problem but when in flood, currents are strong and there is no way of accurately gauging the depth. The force of water is capable of sweeping a vehicle away, even turning it over, and motorists are advised not to attempt a crossing.”
Council chiefs closed Bind Lane in both directions towards the ford following incident. Severnside, Doctor’s Lane and the riverside in Bridgnorth were also closed today. Firefighters also rescued 23 sheep from a flooded field in Hampton Loade.
Shropshire was today put on emergency alert with a “silver” control being set up to co-ordinate the emergency services. Shrewsbury was the worst-hit area, with a severe flood warning in place.
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14 Comments
In future, I would suggest that sticking to roads will result in much less hassle/terror.
You can call 999 from a mobile without signal,how come so many people dont know this!?!
112 is an SOS number that can be called off a mobile number, particularly where you have no signal or little signal. It is used in Europe by mountain climbers and campers, but anyone in distress in the UK can use it. She might not have spent the night in her car in a river if she had known this
Eh? How can you possibly make any phonecall without a signal?
I know you can call the emergency services without having any CREDIT on your phone.
But you can’t phone anywhere without an actual signal!
Driving into deep water is not a clever idea.
Ludlow Rocks, YOU clearly learn something new everyday!
Did she not see the tall white marker that shows how high the water level is - not hard to spot.
The car ended up two feet from the bank in two to three feet of water … Why on earth not step out of the car and step onto the bank, walk away from the car until you get a signal and do an ET?! D’oh!
Please stay in the house next time it rains otherwise you will cost us a fortune in council tax again!
she think she was driving a tank? but trapped all night no signal must have been awful for her weather makes people crazy
I think what Jody meant was that you can call 999 as long as there is a signal available from *any* of the networks, not just the one you’re signed up with. In this case it sounds as if there was no signal at all from any network. Also, in the UK, 999 and 112 are functionally identical and route to the same place.
right, just to make it clear, you can not phone 112 or 999 on a mobile phone without a signal and/or without a simcard!! Do not try it in an emergency as it would waste time and 911 will not work over here, mountain climbers and campers dont phone 112, it is not an SOS number it is the same as 999 and gets put though to the same people!! climbers and campers will use radios not phones!! Do not listen to anyone that says you can phone the services without a simcard or no signal, it could put your life at risk if you try and do it.
d said: 112 is an SOS number that can be called off a mobile number, particularly where you have no signal or little signal. It is used in Europe by mountain climbers and campers, but anyone in distress in the UK can use it.
112 is the number for the police in some european countries.
The purpose of SOS 112 Europe is to attract as many emergency service participants as possible, with the intention to share information and to provide the larger public with information about different emergency services in Europe. Especially the ones connected to the single European emergency call number 112.
That is from the website.
Michael I cannot see where any has suggested you can use a mobile to call a number without a sim!! or is that just your experience!?
At the end of the day, people can call the 112 and its a good number to know if for whatever reason your forget about 999! its not illegal to call as you will see from the website regarding this number. Its simply an SOS number.
To all you clever genius people above have you never made a mistake?
What a horrible ordeal for anyone to have to endure. I’m sure she was probably just trying to get home to her family.
Just imagine if it had been your Mum,
Sister, Nan or Aunt.
Glad to hear the Lady was recovered
safely.