Boater saved driver's life

IF A boater had not seen a car hurtling into the Trent yesterday (Tuesday) the driver would most likely have lost his life.

The man had driven down the grassed Church Lane in Fiskerton in darkness, and straight into the river, and though freeing himself from the car was precariously hanging on to it as it drifted down river on the fast flowing current, Alan Tilbury reveals.

Heard man screaming

Very luckily for him, a boater saw the car and heard the man screaming for help as it passed his moored boat, so lost no time in alerting the emergency services.

It was not a good time to need the firemen as they were on strike, and so the rescue boat was not available as it had no crew, but the fire fighters that did attend luckily had the help of the boater who took his boat out and rescued the driver from the car, and he was taken to hospital as he had been in the river some 30 minutes.

He was conscious when eventually pulled from the water, being recovered just in time as of course the river water in December is extremely cold.