Car left parked in floodwater in Queen’s Staith rescued

Firefighters and members of York Rescue Boat arrived on the scene in Queen’s Staith at about 2pm today (Wednesday, January 1).

They pulled the white Vauxhall Insignia to safety using a winch attached to a fire engine.

The car is likely to have been parked in Queen’s Staith last night before river levels started to rise and the area was under water.

Firefighters bring the car parked in floodwater in Queen’s Staith to safety on Wednesday afternoon (January 1) (Image: Dylan Connell) A crowd gathered to watch the crew pull the car to safety which took about 10 minutes.

People watched on from the beer garden of the Tank and Paddle pub above with one heard applauding the efforts of the fire crew.

Part of the rope used to pull the car out of the floodwater appeared to be stuck under a back wheel of the car.

People watch on as firefighters bring the car parked in floodwater in Queen’s Staith to safety on Wednesday afternoon (January 1) (Image: Dylan Connell) A man brought a winch and used it to lift the car up which allowed the firefighters to free the rope and leave the car parked next to the Queens Hotel, off Skeldergate.

A Skeldergate resident called Nancy told The Press she had been in Queen’s Staith since 12pm, when the water was just starting to touch the car’s front wheels and could have been driven out.

A man uses a winch to help free a rope used to pull the car parked in floodwater in Queen’s Staith to safety on Wednesday afternoon (January 1) (Image: Dylan Connell) But an hour later, the floodwater had started to rise to about halfway up the car’s wheels.

She said people were stood around looking at the car asking if it had been reported to the police.

“I’ve been watching it for a while and it’s [the floodwater] coming up really quickly,” the 54-year-old said at 1.15pm.

The fire engine on the scene near Queen’s Staith on Wednesday afternoon (January 1) (Image: Dylan Connell) Nancy said she has experienced flooding regularly in York but had never witnessed a vehicle being left parked in Queen’s Staith when it was flooded.

River levels continue to rise in York with flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, in place for riverside areas in Queen’s Staith, King’s Staith and south of York to Naburn Lock.

Firefighters attach a rope to the car to pull it out of the floodwater in Queen’s Staith using a winch on Wednesday afternoon (January 1) (Image: Dylan Connell) The Ouse was at 2.84m on the Viking Recorder at 3.45pm – 1.9m is the top of the river’s normal range.

It is expected to peak at 4.19m at 3pm tomorrow then start to gradually fall.

The highest recorded level for the Ouse at the Viking Recorder was 5.40 metres in November 2000.

The Environment Agency is urging people in the areas at risk of flooding to “take care and consider activating your flood plan if you have one”.

“We are closely monitoring the situation and will issue flood warnings if necessary,” a spokesperson said.

“Avoid using low lying footpaths and any bridges near local watercourse and do not attempt to walk, drive or cycle through flood water.”