Praise for flood rescue driver

02 September 2021 by CSG

A CSG tanker driver has been praised by his bosses after he dove in to rescue a woman from her flooded car.

Bill Jacobs was on an emergency callout near Aylesford, Kent, when he came across a car stranded in the middle of the road in rising floodwater.

After hearing from a bystander that a woman was trapped inside the vehicle, Bill decided to act.

“I just waded in,” he said. “The water came up to just over my waist, but I ended up slipping and swimming part of the way to the car.

“I could see that the water was up to her waist inside the car, I managed to open the door and water rushed in. I then managed to drag her out. She was obviously quite distressed but seemed very grateful.

“It was not what I had expected to come across whilst on my call last night!”

Bill and four other bystanders then returned to the water to push her vehicle to safety.

CSG group operations manager Dave Gailor said: “Our drivers are a special breed, and they regularly go out of their way to help customers, but Bill really went above and beyond, displaying great bravery to help a person in distress and danger.

“Everyone is very proud of his actions.”

The incident followed extensive thunderstorms and flash flooding which swept across Kent, resulting in travel disruption across the county.