A Shropshire grandfather feared for his life after becoming stuck chest-deep in freezing flood water when his car stalled in a narrow country lane in the county.

Bill Penwright, 78, was on his way to stay with friends in Welshpool when his Vauxhall Frontera got stuck near to the Royal Hill Inn, Edgerley, north of Shrewsbury, just after noon on Saturday.

Mr Penwright, of Snedshill, Telford, soon found himself chest-deep in flood water and was stuck in the car for 45 minutes as fire crews struggled to get to him.

He said today: “I was driving into the water and it was quite low at first, then it got a little bit deeper, a little bit deeper.

“The car was floating, I looked out of the window and I could see a hedge. The engine stalled and the next thing I knew was that the water was coming in up to my chest.”

Mr Penwright made a call to the emergency services using his mobile phone.

Firefighters, unable to wade into the deep, used a boat found on the side of the road to rescue him.

They eventually managed to lift him from his car and carried him to safety as he had lost all feeling in his legs due to the cold.

“I was frightened for my life, that’s for sure,” he said. “I could hear all these funny noises which I presume were the electrics and anything could have happened.”

He was taken by ambulance to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for a check-up but was back home today in Hazel Way, Snedshill.

The car is still in the road with insurance bosses hoping to retrieve it by Wednesday.

Meanwhile flood barriers remained up in Shrewsbury today but it is possible that they may be taken down tomorrow.

Barriers in Ironbridge have already been removed.

A number of roads remained closed today due to flooding including the road between Cross Houses and Atcham; Chilton Farm Lane, Atcham; Sydney Avenue in Shrewsbury; and Gravel Hill Lane, near the West Mid Showground.

But forecasters are warning that plummeting temperatures could to cause more problems in the region with a temperature of minus three Celsius forecast overnight.

By Wayne Beese