Australian students rescue stricken car on A11 in Norfolk

Three jet-lagged Australians came to the rescue of the driver of a broken down car - and everyone stuck behind him - by pushing it a mile (1.6km) through single carriageway roadworks.

The car came to a standstill on the A11 in Norfolk, causing a massive tailback.

The students, who had just arrived from Melbourne, decided the only way forward was to push the car.

With traffic driving slowly behind, roadworkers eventually removed a barrier for the stricken car to exit.

Katy Jon Went was about 10 cars behind the Ford Fiesta that had ground to a halt near Wymondham on Sunday.

She and other motorists walked along the line of trapped cars asking if anyone could help, and the exchange students came to the rescue.

Axel Blitzman, 20, Lachlan Salvador, 19, and Ace Lin, 23, were on a coach heading for Norwich Business School, which is part of the University of East Anglia.

The Fiesta had broken down in a nine-mile (14.5km) one-lane section of roadworks, and the students were told they might have to push it several miles.

Katy said the police had been informed, and signs alongside the roadworks said people should wait for a recovery vehicle.

"But we'd waited about 25 minutes, and they were happy to help - they were gleefully mad," she said.

"They were wearing shorts on what was probably the wettest day of the year, but they just said 'of course we can do this - it's what we do all the time in Australia'."

Thankfully, after about a mile, "the roadworks recovery folk opened up a temporary road barrier and allowed us to push the car through to the rescue truck", she said.

Mr Salvador said: "We'd just come off a 23-hour flight and were pretty jet-lagged.

"The whole experience was surreal but we want to make the most of our time in Norwich and thought 'why not?'.

"We really enjoyed being clapped by the locals, it made us feel welcomed and Norwich seems like a really nice community.

"We'd really love to see a Norwich City game. We watch UK football back home and would love to experience it."

Lewis Sillett, from the UEA, said exchange students were usually paired with local businesses, adding: "We don't normally include pushing cars as part of the programme but the can-do spirit and willingness to muck in from these guys meant they voluntarily added the experience as part of their trip."

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