Ruislip & Eastcote & Northwood Gazette
Driver waits eight hours after his car gets caught in flood
DAD STUCK IN FREEZING COLD WAITING FOR A TOW
A SOAKED dad had to wait for eight hours in the cold after his car got flooded near to Isleworth Station.
Asif Virani, 42, was caught in heavy rainfall last Thursday night and had to wait for hours for the RAC to come and tow his green Ford car as they were so busy.
The father was on his way to work at a cafe in Kew Gardens at 6am when he tried to drive through a puddle. Water had risen up through nearby drains and the water level was so high it spilled into his car and left him soaked.
He said on the day: “When I opened my car door the water was leaking into the car. I was soaked. I had to take off my shoes and roll my trousers up.
“I have just been waiting here. The [Bridge Inn pub] has given me a towel.
“I was sat on their stairs for an hour this morning.”
The water level was so high Asif believed it had covered his engine and he would be stuck. The dad was left shivering on the side of the road from the early hours of the morning.
He then went home to take his son to school before returning to the scene in some fresh clothes to wait for his car to be moved.
Asif alerted the police and they swiftly closed the road, but another driver was also caught in the flooding before the road was shut off and they were also left waiting to be towed.
The road under the railway bridge at Isleworth Station remained flooded the day after and lorries and ambulances had to drive through the ankle-deep water. Buses were diverted from the area.
Neighbourhoods across London
had been left flooded after two weeks of rainfall fell in one night. Sections of the A41, M25 and A1 in north London were blocked, as well as part of the A40 at Old Oak Common.
Flooding and signal failures also affected several Tube lines, causing disruption across the network. London Fire Brigade (LFB) said it was called to about 45 flooding-related incidents overnight.
When I opened my car door the water was leaking into the car. I was soaked.
Asif Virani