'This is totally avoidable' - Vehicles trapped in flood water as Midhurst is badly hit by Storm Dennis

That is the message from Midhurst Fire Station after multiple vehicles were rescued from flood water following Storm Dennis.

In a post on Twitter, the town's fire station wrote: "We have carried out several rescues of people from vehicles in flood water this afternoon with help from a wade team [from East Wittering].

"Please don’t take any risks."

A spokesperson said another person was assisted from a vehicle in flood water at Selham this morning (Monday, February 17).

They added: "It might not be raining but flood water continues to be a risk."

Responding on Twitter, firefighter and outgoing town council chairman Mark Purves said: "This is totally avoidable. People please just stop and think first."

Marvin Smith, West Sussex Fire Service training planning manager and national resilience flood rescue tactical advisor, said crews attended three rescues from vehicles in water in 45 minutes yesterday afternoon.

He added: "Don’t take the risk, you are putting yourself and responders in harms way.

"Our call handlers did a fantastic job of prioritising those most in need of the fire and rescue service’s help, and having been based at fire control over the weekend I could hear the level of panic in people’s voices when they rang as the water levels rose.

“Being trapped in a vehicle stranded in water is an extremely alarming experience as the water rises up around the vehicle. Trying to open a car door in these circumstances can be extremely difficult, and all it takes is 30cm of water for a vehicle to be moved along in a current.

“There are a number of road closures still in place across the county, and they are in place for a reason. The water may not look very deep, and you may know the road very well, but you have no idea what is below the surface of the water, or how fast the water is flowing.

“Please do not ignore these road closures. You are putting not only yourself at risk but also the lives of the emergencies services who will have to rescue you, not to mention probably having your car written off due to water damage.”

West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service said it attended incidents in Woolbeding, Lickfold and Stedham.

A spokesperson said: “The first was on Woolbeding Lane near Midhurst at 1.16pm, and saw the crew work alongside the wade rescue trained retained crew from East Wittering. The crews rescued two people from one vehicle stranded in water.

“At 2.18pm, both crews were mobilised to Highstead Lane in Lickfold to rescue one person who had driven into floodwater.

“They were again mobilised at 4.27pm to Queen Street in Steadham, but upon arrival found the driver had already made their way to safety.”

The county council said it received 'around 200 flooding-related calls' in a 12-hour period on Sunday from 7am.

"These varied from flooding to properties to people trapped in their vehicles in floodwater," the spokesman said.

"Although much of the worst of the storm has passed, a number of roads across the county remain impassable due to floodwater. The service is urging drivers not to ignore road closures, which could see them stranded in floodwater and in need of being rescued."

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