School minibus children pulled from deep flood water

A mobile mechanic has described the moment he rescued children from a school minibus who were trapped by "waist-high" flood water.

Sam Knipes, a 4x4 driver, was called to Hallsford Bridge in Ongar, Essex, on Friday morning.

He helped to pull a stranded minibus to safety which had seven pupils from The Ongar Academy on board.

Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said it also rescued "dozens of people and a dog" from flooded roads

Mr Knipes said he was initially called to Ongar after being tagged by a number of "distressed" parents on Facebook.

"I went down there to find a minibus in waist-high water," he told BBC Essex.

"I put my waders on, went into the water, hooked it up to the towing eye and pulled it out."

Essex County Council told Everything Epping Forest that the seven pupils were "safely transported to school" in another vehicle.

Mr Knipes said he had been surviving on "five hours' kip" due to being in such high demand over the past few days.

On Friday, the fire service said it received about 100 flood-related calls, with "dozens" involving people trapped in cars.

It urged motorists who considered driving through flood water to "turn around and find another safe route".

"We know it's frustrating when your route is blocked and you just want to get to your destination," a statement on social media said.

"It will take far less time to turn around than it would waiting for us to rescue you and then for a recovery company to pull your vehicle out."

On Wednesday, a van driver in north Essex had a "lucky escape" after his vehicle ended up in a flooded ford.

A flood alert for the River Roding in Loughton and several others remained in place across Essex following days of heavy rain.

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