Even large vans can get stuck at Watery Gate
DRIVERS who think size matters are still getting caught short as they attempt to traverse a notorious ford.
A fifth vehicle in a little over three weeks got stranded last Thursday at Watery Gate Lane in Thurlaston.
The white Iveco Daily van floundered halfway across the flooded road as the driver tried to make the crossing.
But despite fire crews placing hazard tape, cones and a wooden crate in the way of the impassable road, on Saturday fire crews were called back to the site to rescue three people and a puppy from the roof of a stranded car.
The rescue involved two fire engines, a specialist heavy rescue unit, a water rescue pick up truck, 13 firefighters, a paramedic fast response vehicle, a paramedic and police.
Posting to the Hinckley station Facebook page, exasperated crews outlined the lengths gone to in order to warn motorists of the flood.
They said: “We’ve again tried to barrier off the ford.
“With the huge signs warning you of the ford, the two additional signs across the road saying “flood”, the barrier tape stretched across the road and finally the pallet stacked against a cone at the waters edge.... if you get stuck now, maybe you should’ve gone to *a well known opticians*.”
The three female occupants of the Peugeot were rescued from the car along with the puppy which they later said was warming up in a fire engine.
On Thursday a white van man tried his luck in the notorious ford but also came unstuck.
He was helped to safety by a fire and rescue crew from Hinckley, with the details posted onto the station’s Facebook page shortly afterwards.
Together with two pictures highlighting the hazard, the post read: “This afternoon Hinckley’s crew attended Watery Gate Lane in Thurlaston to a stranded vehicle.
“The driver was helped out the vehicle and the van was left in situ for the owner to arrange recovery.
“Perhaps a great big white van abandoned in the middle of the ford will remind people that its impassable??”
The rescue follows a spate of similar strandings in December when firefighters were called out three times in a matter of days, then again on December 30.
An incident on December 18 involved a horse box stuck in more than two feet of water.
Posting the pictures on Facebook, Hinckley crews wrote: “Guess where we’ve been...... “Again...... “Need we say more??” They included the hashtag #ReadTheBloominSigns!! and #ReturnOfTheEmoji in relation to their use of emojis to spare the trapped motorists’ blushes.
The latest rescues follow a spate of drivers ignoring warnings or blindly following their sat navs into the water.
A driver got trapped in a similar amount of water on the previous Thursday afternoon before two men were forced to take refuge on their car roof the next night December 15 to escape three feet of icy water.
Following the second incident fire crews put tape across the ford to deter motorists but their efforts appeared to have had no effect on the driver of the horse truck.
The fate of these previous drivers failed to dissuade a fourth driver braving the waters only to grind to a halt during the afternoon of Saturday December 30.
This time it was volunteers from Leicestershire and Rutland 4x4 Response who came to the motorist’s aid. They had also winched the first in the spate of victims to safety on December 14.
The ford is notorious for trapping motorists who think their vehicles can cope with the water and despite clear signage warning of the dangers and highlighting the water depth.
Many cars will start to float in as little as one foot of water - this can be extremely dangerous because as the wheels lose grip, you lose control.
Two feet of flowing water can sweep away most vehicles - including large four-wheel drive cars. It is thought most drivers are following satnav instructions which mark the ford as a suitable route.
Hinckley watch commander Steve Moore has previously vented his frustrations at motorists who blindly follow their sat nav into the ford leading to prolonged call-out for fire fighters.
After one rescue he said: “The thing is if your sat nav tells you to drive off a cliff would you do it?
“The road closed signs are put there when the ford is flooded and you can see the depth of the water on the guide post. Just six inches of water will reach the bottom of most passenger cars; this depth can cause loss of control or possible stalling as water is sucked into the exhaust or washes into the air intake.”