Woman saved from car in flood near Wolverhampton
[gallery] A brave passer-by rushed to the rescue of a woman who got trapped in a swollen ford near Wolverhampton today after torrential downpours which caused chaos across the region.
A woman in her 40s driving a Mini got into difficulty when trying to pass through Furnace Grange Road, Trescott, which has become notorious for flooding in recent years.
Within seconds the car was submerged in four feet of water and carpenter Dan Flavell was pulling the woman out of the back window.
He then carried her on his back to safety on a raised walkway around the ford.
Mr Flavell was heading to a job in Wombourne at about 8.30am when he noticed the flood and decided to turn his van round.
But he saw the Mini get stuck and decided to help.
Mr Flavell waded through the ford, where there has been a spate of similar incidents in recent years, and pulled the woman driver through the car's back window.
He then carried her to safety on his back. Mr Flavell, of Tettenhall, said: "I was doing a three-point turn when I saw this Mini coming towards the water, and I thought 'surely they're not going to try and go through it'.
"But she did and as she was about a third of the way across, the car got swept in the current and rested against a wall.
"I knew I had to help her, and I was worried she might have some kids in the back. When I saw she was alone, I reached in and helped her out of the back window. I don't think she knew the area so she didn't realise there was a dip there and she got into trouble."
He said a marker next to the ford showed the water was more than 4ft deep this afternoon.
He added: "If you're local, then you would know not to go through the water.
"Sometimes it's closed off if it gets really bad but it's still open, so I hope no-one else has the same problems."
Mr Flavell said a second motorist, who was driving a Jaguar, also got stuck in the water.
The driver climbed out a back door to escape the vehicle.
