These are the dramatic pictures capturing the moment a hero passer-by jumped into flood water to rescue a woman trapped in her car.
Jamie Price, 32, jumped into nearly 4ft of water in Billericay Essex and waded out to a car that was floating in floodwater.
Risking his own life, he managed to pull the unnamed woman from the vehicle.
He then picked her up in his arms and carried her to safety.
A woman is pictured being rescued from her car in nearly 4ft of water in Essex
Jamie Pierce, 32, jumped in and carried her to safety. Her car was floating at the time
RAC Breakdown spokesman Simon Williams urged drivers to be wary of flooded roads
Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Price, from Thurrock, said: ‘So basically I’d come down to the area out of curiosity because I’m local.
‘The area was really flooded and I noticed an Audi 2.5 that was stuck in there.
‘I’m not a recovery person or anything, I’m just a member of the public.
‘But because I’ve got a Land Rover, I was pulling the Audi out, this other car came straight into 4ft of water at about 20 miles an hour.
‘It doesn’t seem like it in the photos, but she was actually floating in the car and she must have floated around 25 metres.
‘She was getting pushed against the railing and I was already in waders so I jumped in to get her.
‘Over the railing was just about 10ft of water because this was an Irish Bridge, so there was 4ft of water over the bridge as well as another 4ft underneath’
Mr Price said the woman was ‘very lucky’ that she didn’t go over the railing and if he didn’t intervene, then the emergency services would have been called.
The dad-of-four managed to rescue the woman and she was seen smiling as Mr Price carried her away.
‘I wouldn’t consider myself a hero, I was just there at the right times,’ he added.
‘When I rescued the lady, she said she was on her way to meet her boyfriend for breakfast.
‘He came and picked her up afterwards and they went off and carried on with their day like nothing happened.’
It came after Thursday’s torrents saw schools opening or closing late with a horse racing event being called off at Wincanton because of the miserable conditions.
Parts of Devon and Cornwall were also left underwater with a number of roads being forced closed following the onslaught of showers, with fields across the counties left saturated.
RAC Breakdown spokesman Simon Williams urged drivers to be wary of flooded roads, saying that those in the ‘worst-affected areas will need to be on their guard for floods and standing water’.
He added: ‘Anyone tempted to drive through water that is too deep for their vehicle is risking their safety and a very expensive repair bill near to Christmas or, worse still, the prospect of an insurance write-off.
‘The best advice is to turn around and go another way if there’s any doubt about the water’s depth.
‘From a road safety perspective, we urge drivers to slow down and leave plenty of stopping distance behind the vehicle in front.
Britain was hit with heavy rain and flooding on Thursday as three inches of rain fell within a matter of hours
Luckily, the woman seemed unharmed and she was pictured smiling as Mr Pierce carried her away
‘It’s also important to remember the risk of losing control due to aquaplaning, which is what happens when a layer of water gets between the tyres and the road surface, making it impossible to steer, brake or accelerate.’
Britain was hit with heavy rain and flooding on Thursday as three inches of rain fell within a matter of hours.
Forecasters say some areas will face ‘frequent showers’ and even rumbles of thunder through Friday – before a huge bank of rain hits the south-west into Saturday.
Met Office forecaster Alex Deakin said of Friday morning’s weather: ‘(It will be) a wet one for Northern Ireland, there will be frequent showers for north Wales, north-west England, much of central and southern Scotland.
‘Parts of southern England, East Anglia may stay dry and bright – but it’s a bit misty and murky to start the day.’
Conditions will worsen into Saturday as the rain creeps up the country into the north of England and southern Scotland – before skies brighten up in the afternoon.
But Sunday will also see ‘unsettled’ weather with bands of rain sweeping north and east across much of the country – paired with high winds, including gales.
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