Minibus in Floods - 1st July 2009



A minibus full of teenagers was nearly swept into a swollen river during the floods that have devastated Southern England recently.

The journey to Worth Matravers in Dorset should have taken the 12 to 16-year-old’s only five hours, but it became an epic 15-hour journey through rising flood waters.When they reached the Warwickshire village of Shipston-on-Stour it seemed they could go no further. While vehicles bobbed in the water around them, their driver ploughed through nearly three feet of fast-moving burst river water at the base of a hill.

She said: "We were advised not to accelerate through it but the current was so strong it was sweeping us to the other side, towards the river. "The kids were saying ''Go for it, go for it'' because they could feel it pulling us across the road. It was frightening. When you''ve got 14 children in the back who belong to other people, you just accelerate all the way through. You don''t want to have to tell people you''ve lost all their kids. "Accompanied by another leader, she said the youngsters cheered like mad once they made it through.

The group, who were hoping to go fishing and kayaking in Dorset, had set off at 10am that day but broke down for five hours at a Warwick motorway service station. With no radio to tell them what was happening, they set off along the A40 which was hit by delays after mud banks beside the road collapsed and it took them five hours to drive another three-quarters-of-a-mile.

It was 6pm before they reached Shipston, where they were horrified to see the village almost completely under water.

The group were eventually able to head off for Dorset at 4am on Saturday and arrived at the Worth Matravers camp, a charity-run centre for field trips, five hours later. Although they missed their scheduled kayaking and fishing activities, they spent the holiday playing on the beach in glorious sunshine.

 

ringback service

If you would like us to call you to discuss you insurance requirements or to do a quotation over the phone, please select one of the subjects below: