Incredible video shows rescue of family of four trapped in their car by Storm Ciara flooding

Footage from police shows the moment police find Sunderland family stranded on country road after hitting flood water caused by Storm Ciara on Sunday, February 9.
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At 12.15pm on Sunday, February 9 police received a report of a vehicle trapped in flood water caused by Storm Ciara near Bellingham, Hexham.

A white Suziki Splash, was carrying a family of four, including an eight-year-old child came into trouble after hitting flood water while travelling back to Sunderland from the Kielder area.

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Struck in a rural location the female driver was unable to use Google Maps to tell officers her exact location.

Incredible video shows how flooding caused by Storm Ciara trapped a family of four in their carIncredible video shows how flooding caused by Storm Ciara trapped a family of four in their car
Incredible video shows how flooding caused by Storm Ciara trapped a family of four in their car

With reports of water levels rising the race was on to find the stranded family of four. On the ground, police worked with little information and travelled the expected route with assistance of the police helicopter which searched the surrounding area.

Fortunately, the flooding car was located and the occupants were safely rescued by officers.

Neighbourhood Inspector Pam Bridges, has now warned other drivers to take care during dangerous storms, especially on country roads, she said: “Some of our more rural roads can be much more dangerous when it comes to bad weather. Branches and other items can blow into the road and due to the tight corners on these roads drivers need to take extra care.

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“Country roads often run alongside rivers and streams which can become flooded during heavy rain and rising water. So we’re asking drivers and pedestrians to take care when using these roads and to look out for one another when out and about.

“We also advise downloading the app ‘What3Words’ so that if you do come into trouble we can find out your exact location. This is incredibly helpful on our vast system of unnamed roads and rural landscape.

“It only takes a minute and it could save your life.”

What3Words is a simple worldwide tool used to communicate precise location. The system breaks down the world geographically into 3m squares and then those individual squares each have a unique three word address that will never change.

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