Taxi stranded in high water
Firefighters rescure the taxi driver and his teenage passenger
FIREFIGHTERS carried out a dramatic water rescue after a schoolboy and a taxi driver were stranded in flood water for four hours.
The driver had been hired to take the young teenage boy to school early on Tuesday morning but misjudged the depth of flooding on Newport Pagnell’s notorious Little Linford Lane.
It is understood he waited in the cold for four hours – until 12.30pm – before he dialled 999.
One resident on a nearby estate said: “We knew a car was stuck down the lane but we didn’t realise there was anybody in it for that length of time.”
Fire crews from Newport Pagnell, Bletchley, Broughton and Great Holm arrived minutes after the call was finally made. Clad in waterproof suits, they used the specialist rescue boat, made famous after a heroic rescue of a child during the Cheltenham floods, and an inflatable sled, similar to a dinghy.
Newport station manager Mark Robinson said: “We put the boy and the driver onto the sled and towed them across the water to safety... the whole rescue was over in 15 minutes.”
The shivering pair were wrapped in blankets and put in a support vehicle to warm up before another taxi arrived to collect them.
Now firefighters have issued a stern warning to motorists who take a chance by driving through flood water.
“We want drivers to realise that cars are not boats. The electrics are built underneath cars these days, so driving through water causes them to cut out,” said Mr Robinson.
“It’s often impossible to know how deep flood water is until you find yourself stranded. There are also hidden dangers, such as exposed manholes where the covers have been forced off by the water pressure. This could prove lethal if somebody tried to walk to safety.”
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Weather for Milton Keynes
Sunday 19 May 2013
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 10 C to 18 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North
