Former Mountain Rescuer Details Floodwater Rescue During Storm Bert

A former mountain rescue volunteer has recounted saving a woman from drowning after her vehicle became submerged in floodwaters during Storm Bert. Dr. Leslie Spiers, 76, residing in Fifehead St Quinton, North Dorset, reported that he was at his home on Saturday around 23:00 when he observed headlights outside. Upon looking through his window, he realized a car had driven into the River Devilish, with the driver floating inside. He told BBC Radio Solent, “I jumped over the flood defences that we had on the house and waded out chest high.” Dr. Spiers further explained, “The small River Devilish, which is a very benign 3m-wide stream, had swollen with probably 8ft of additional water coming down the hill – the road was completely impassable.” Dr. Spiers initially believed the driver had stopped to reverse, but then witnessed the car move, noting “there was huge bow wave within 10m of her entering the water.” He added, “I noticed that the rear lamps were oscillating and recognised that she was actually floating in the car.” According to Dr. Spiers, “The woman was trying to get out of the car, and her front windows were electrically driven, and they weren’t working.” He continued, “But the two rear windows had manual winders, and she was able to get out.” He elaborated, “By which time the car was wedged under a bridge, so she would have either drowned in the car or have been swept away.” Dr. Spiers recalled, “I could hear her screaming and saying ‘help me i’m going to die’. “I waded across the river and I could feel the undertow, it was almost impossible to stand up.” Dr. Spiers stated that he had no concerns for his personal safety, adding that “it never entered my mind” not to offer assistance. He affirmed, “There was a woman that was going to die and I was not going to let that happen. It’s as simple as that.” He concluded, “The moment that I grabbed a hold of her and she knew she was safe – she was just weeping and saying thank you.” Information regarding BBC Dorset’s presence on Facebook, X (Twitter), and Instagram is available. Copyright for this content is held by BBC, 2024. All rights are reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the content found on external websites and provides details on its approach to external linking.