Sunday, January 21, 2007

Man rescued after pikers raise alarm

A man was rescued from floodwater on Sunday after pike anglers called the emergency services.

An Air Sea Rescue helicopter was scrambled after people pike fishing on the Delph at Welney, on the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border, reported hearing cries for help.

A 43-year-old man from North Norfolk was plucked to safety from the flooded Welney Washes and airlifted to hospital to be treated for hypothermia, after being trapped for six hours in waist-deep water.

The man is believed to have tried to drive along the A1101 Welney Causeway, before being forced to abandon his car.

The road and the Ouse Washes it crosses have been flooded for some weeks, meaning there is no access to the village from Littleport, to the South-east.

Anglers fishing the Delph and Old Bedford are advised to only try and gain access from the North - Wisbech/Upwell/A1101.