Driver’s lucky escape after car washed 30 metres by flood water

A driver of a car washed 30 metres downstream after trying to drive through flood water has been led to safety by firefighters.

We were called just after 8.30am on Friday (20 October) to The Mill Walk in Northfield, Birmingham. Crews from Bournbrook and Perry Barr fire stations and our Technical Rescue Unit responded.

The driver, a man believed to be in his early 40s, had attempted to pass through a fast-flowing ford.

His vehicle was rapidly pushed downstream, before getting stuck. The man climbed to safety on the roof of his vehicle, before using a tree branch to make his way to the embankment.

From there, he was led to safety by our crews an hour after the initial 999 calls.

The man was not injured. At no stage during the incident did he or our crews enter the water.