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Another driver has been caught in the treacherous Lands End Ford
Another driver has been caught in the treacherous Lands End Ford
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Car abandoned in Charvil ford

By Jon Nurse
September 25, 2012

A deserted car was rescued from the Lands End ford in Charvil in the early hours of this morning.

Water covered the bonnet of a silver Citroen Saxo as it was stranded in the ford after the water rose to be more than three feet deep following a weekend of torrential rain.

Security van towed away from Charvil ford

Crews from Wokingham, Wokingham Road and Whitley Wood fire stations together with a water rescue unit from Caversham Road joined police at the ford at just after 1.30am this morning.

Ford drivers are risking lives

A Thames Valley Police spokeswoman said: "It appears the driver misjudged the depth of the ford and left it there."

Charvil ford continues to trap dozy drivers

Nobody was in the car and the passenger door was open when the crews arrived, who attended the scene for 45 minutes.

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Most recent user comments 5 of 5

   Having crossed that ford barefoot with an 8Kg pack, I'd be worried about the vehicle occupants. The algae and 'green muck' for want of a better description stuck to the riverbed nearly had me over a couple of times and this was a foot deep in Summer daylight. It was cold and the current was surprisingly strong.
Woky Local
26/09/2012 at 08:08 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Hooray!

The first Land's End ford story of the Autumn!

All we need now is a clamping hard luck story from the Chequers pub car park and we'll have the full set!
HatsOfDoom
26/09/2012 at 07:38 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   They've either done that, or are doing it, Woky. Although it is only in the council's interest if lives are being lost, which they aren't, or it is costing them money, which it shouldn't be. The three signs on the approach, the last of which is shown in the photo, really couldn't be clearer. There is also a big depth gauge that shows how deep the ford is (except once when even that was covered, so I have been told). Anyone who carries on regardless should, in my opinion, entirely pay for the recovery that will follow.

Generally, if no lives are at risk, the emergency services will no longer get involved at this ford, and you will have to fund recovery yourself. I'm sure the AA would provide you with a service, probably at an additional cost to any premium paid. But in this case highlighted in this article, the emergency services responded because they wouldn't have known if anyone was still in the car, or if life was at risk or already lost. That's why the driver should have called them to advise what had happened. The driver may not have done so in order that recovery would be free, because they were embarassed at making such a mistake, because they didn't know what to do, or even because they didn't want to be caught in the state they were in at the time. You won't get them for the latter by now.

You can't drive a little Saxo through a ford when it has been raining heavily. End of. At three feet of water, you can barely get a tractor through! Make them pay for the waste of everyone's time.
mavdo, Wokingham
25/09/2012 at 17:39 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   Perhaps the driver couldn't a-ford a recovery vechicle.

How much would it cost to install a BIG FLASHY LIGHT which would sense river levels and approaching vehicles?

Oh, and please drink responsibly.
Woky Local
25/09/2012 at 17:08 Offensive or Inappropriate?
   The owner should be easily identifiable through number plates alone. It is illegal to leave the scene of an accident without informing police. There may be mitigagting factors, of course, but if there aren't any, then they should be prosecuted. Make them pay for the services of the fire engines, which were at at £500 per pump back in 2000 just for calling them out, and charge them with wasting police time too.
mavdo, Wokingham
25/09/2012 at 15:41 Offensive or Inappropriate?
 
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