Date
East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service is issuing an urgent warning to motorists after being called to incidents where cars have become trapped in flood water.
The latest incident took place at Scrappers Hill Chiddingly. We were called at 6.52pm to reports of a person trapped in a car which was filling up with water. They were safely reached by crews and first aid was given at the scene.
Earlier today we had the following incidents:
- Called at 12.15 to Richmond Avenue, Bexhill to reports of 3 people in a car under a bridge. All persons were able to get out of the car safely.
- Called at 1.11pm to North Street in Alfriston, where a car had got stuck in water. A tractor had been able to reach a person in car prior to the arrival of crews.
- At 12.50 crews found a car stuck in water on Friday Street in Stone Cross while returning from another call.
- Called at 1.47pm to Cooden Sea Road, Cooden - the driver managed to get to safety. Crews put cordons in place.
- Called at 2.56pm to Westcourt Drive, Bexhill to reports of two cars in water under a bridge. Crews confirmed no-one was inside.
Safety advice
- Do not travel in heavy rain unless absolutely necessary
- Check for flood warnings along your route - https://check-for-flooding.service.gov.uk/alerts-and-warnings
- Do not ignore road closed signs
- Even roads you are familiar with can change dramatically during bad weather - drain covers can lift and there can be other hidden dangers
- Never attempt to cross or drive through floodwater if you don’t know how deep the water is. Just two feet of water will float a car
- Never try to swim through fast flowing water or floodwater – you may get swept away or be injured by an object in the water
- Don’t assume fords are safe to cross just because the road is not closed. Always look at the river level gauge and use your common sense