Pensioner rescued from sinking car

A PENSIONER had a lucky escape when he was rescued from his car just before it sank under water after he was stranded on a tidal causeway.

The man, in his 80s, was trapped inside the vehicle with the sea rising around him after he got stuck on the causeway between Overton and Sunderland Point, Lancashire, the RNLI said.

Emergency services were called just before 3.30pm yesterday and the Morecambe RNLI's inshore lifeboat crew found the man inside the car and unable to open the doors because of the pressure of water.

The electric windows were also not working because of the water level inside the car, which was rising rapidly.

Lifeboat crew members managed to force the door open and lift the man into the lifeboat just before the car disappeared beneath the waves.

Trevor McMeeking, a volunteer helmsman with the Morecambe RNLI inshore lifeboat, said: "It was a close thing. The casualty was cold and in distress but fortunately we were able to force the door open, extricate him from the vehicle and lift him into the lifeboat just seconds before the car sank under the water.

"Due to the casualty's breathing rate, we supplied him with oxygen and treated him for the effects of cold whilst transporting him to Snatchems, where he was safely transferred into the care of a waiting ambulance crew."

By Dominic Harris, Press Association