Worcester man captures car’s narrow escape from River Severn

A man in Worcestershire has captured the moment a car narrowly survived plunging into the River Severn.

The incident happened some time before 14:30 GMT on Monday at Worcester Rowing Club, next to Worcester Racecourse.

Rowing trainer Keith Hiley described the scene as something from the “Italian Job” with all four wheels of the stricken black Audi off the ground as it balanced on the steps leading down to the river.

The 67-year-old said: “I think there was a touch of embarrassment there, you know, ‘you’re in the spotlight, mate, because you’ve done something really, really ridiculous’.”

Mr Hiley was baffled as to how the driver had managed to end up in that situation as he only captured the aftermath.

He added: “It’s not the sort of thing you see every day.

“I really don’t know [how it happened]. The irony of it is there was no water in the car park.

“Yes, the river’s rising but I would have thought he would have made out there was an edge.

“I thought, ‘crikey, this is most peculiar’ and I don’t know what he was thinking.”

Mr Hiley, who trains rowers at the club, said two different rescue attempts were made to lift the car to safety after an initial attempt left the vehicle trapped on the top step.

“By the time that happened it was in pitch darkness,” he said.

The rowing club witnessed a similar scene “three or fours years ago” during a flood, the 67-year-old recalled.

He said the previous incident, that saw the vehicle fall completely into the water, resulted in the club erecting a warning sign to prevent a similar situation happening.