E30 drowning!!!!!!

[Simon]

Anyone had any news from Dameon yet?

[zimmerbimmer1]

Anyone had any news from Dameon yet?

Everyone is ok

[ZedOne]

Just got back from a LOOOOOONNNNGGGG night working through to save what we could of Dameon's place.

The main thing is Dameon and the rest of the family are safe and well.

I'll leave Dameon to fill you in on the state of the house (not my place to do so) but he won't be near a computer for a few weeks at least so just keep the positive vibes going for him to help him through.

Bought a set of waders on my way up there yesterday 'just in case' - good job too because I was up to my waste in them for the best part of 16hrs! Most productive £30 I've spent ever!

Paul - you are a fuckin LEGEND mate - working flat out through the night and morning.....you desrve a medal mate (although I'm sure a hot shower, cuppa, some food and a kip would be more appreciated right now?? )

Please keep Dameon and his family in your thoughts - they need it right now and I know he'll appreciate all the kind comments from you guys....

Regards,

Bruce.

[zimmerbimmer1]

Just got back from a LOOOOOONNNNGGGG night working through to save what we could of Dameon's place.

The main thing is Dameon and the rest of the family are safe and well.

I'll leave Dameon to fill you in on the state of the house (not my place to do so) but he won't be near a computer for a few weeks at least so just keep the positive vibes going for him to help him through.

Bought a set of waders on my way up there yesterday 'just in case' - good job too because I was up to my waste in them for the best part of 16hrs! Most productive £30 I've spent ever!

Paul - you are a fuckin LEGEND mate - working flat out through the night and morning.....you desrve a medal mate (although I'm sure a hot shower, cuppa, some food and a kip would be more appreciated right now?? )

Please keep Dameon and his family in your thoughts - they need it right now and I know he'll appreciate all the kind comments from you guys....

Regards,

Bruce.

HERE HERE

Glad you got home safe Bruce in that Monster of a Truck

[buster]

shit just read this lot now.
Hope they are ok.Not much i can do from up here,but if i can help in any way let me know.

andy

[ZedOne]

Bruce, You taken your jacked up Delica (Sp) down??

bruce, got any pics of the monster truck riding above the flood water?

Took the truck of course!

Saturday 8.30pm: The lane that leads to Dameon's place was predictably flooded, the Landie in the pic was having none of it, but we decided to go through! (My Delica = 3ft taller than a landie!)


Half way along the lane, (about 500yds) the water got a LOT deeper and the alternator lamp was looking scared. Decided enough was enough and backed out.....my footwells were flooding and I'd not put the snorkel on, so didn't want to risk hydraulicing (SP) the engine. Time to find another route.


Sunday 9.00am: Dameon gets a call from the landlord of the local pub. His wife is 7days overdue and they are cut off on all sides by the flooding. No Landrovers can make it through - airlifting would be too stressful for a woman due to go into labour any minute - what can he suggest.

A knowing wink told me he was volunteering me for the job, so off Paul & I set.

We get to the start of the flooded road where a few Landrover owners are parked and watching the flow of water over the road. When I pull up they tell me there is no way even a 4x4 could make it through there.....the water is over 4ft deep for a whole mile and the cross current would probably wash the motor away (the whole mile long stretch was a very fast flowing river going across the road!!)

You can't really see the current in the pic (just beyond the house) - but believe me, I was scared sh!tless when I saw it!! (you also can't quite make out how deep the roadsign is on the right of the picture - but it was half underwater!!) Look at the fence on the left and the wooden railing on the right - this gives some idea of how the water got deep quite quickly!


We sat at the edge of the water for a minute while I wondered what to do. I looked at Paul who was looking pretty worried too! He then said "how the fu@k else is she gonna get to hospital?"

That was it - 4WD Low engaged and off we went for what can only be described as the scariest mile of my life! (with the exception of the return journey )

4+ feet of water is pretty daunting anyway - but 4+ feet hitting you full-on sideways with all its force is something I'm not sure I ever want to encounter again!

The photos look like the water was fairly tame - but I'm sure Paul can tell you how fast that water was flowing across the road! (also note how deep the road sign is in the first photo.... )






After fighting & wrestling the motor through for 5+mins and water up around my ankles (bear in mind the floor of my motor is over 3.5ft from the ground!) we finally got to the pub.

Pregnant lady (not yet in labour thank fu@k!) loaded along with any kids and a few more people to fill the motor up and off we set back the way we came.

The water had got even higher by this time....and I was totally sh!tting bricks, but spending all my effort to try and hold the vehicle in line (not easy!) so didn't have time to register the faces of the people in the back - or Paul for that matter who was utterly silent for the whole trip back!

Obviously we made it safely back to dry land albeit with VERY shaky hands on my part! The Landrover guys couldn't beleive their eyes and the pregnant woman was taken safely to hospital by one of the local people.

All I can say is that my Delica is a fuck!n hero of epic proportions and impressed me more than I ever expected....so well done li'l van! (it even pulled a car out of the flood with ease that people had given up trying to rescue becuase the handbrake was on and it was in 1st!...top marks to an awsome tool!)

So there you go - my little monster truck saves the day again!

[ZedOne]

BTW - the black bit in the middle of the last two pics is the pub sign (a welcome sight!) - luckily it wasn't a stranded vehicle.....

[Dan318-is]

Holy crap!

[eko]

Bruce im stuck for words

All i can say is.....ummm fooking hero,no other word to describe!
You too Paul.
Legends both of you.

[zimmerbimmer1]

I must admit I was totally shitting bricks going through that I had my fingers, toes and what ever else crossed that we would make it and thanks to Bruce's skill and determination we did.

Even one of the ocupants we rescued said " I must get one of these".

I'm now thinking of building a powerful BMW Monster Truck.

[Morat]

Poor daemon
I hope his tourings are OK (I'm only saying that now I know his family are OK).

[Rosc0PColtrane]

Staggering.

[ZedOne]

Just spoke to Dameon and he wants to thank everybody for thinking about him and his family.

He won't be on the computer for 3-4 weeks by the look of it, so I'll pass messages back to him from you all.

He's gonna be staying with some of his neighbours for a while, so it just goes to show how the community spirit comes out more when things get bad (these neighbours also spent most of the day helping get Damo's house prepared for the worst!)

Thanks again for all the support - I know he appreciates it....

Bruce.

[Jon_Bmw]

Total heros the both of you. Those pictures sent a shiver down my spine. That looks truely deep.

All the best for dameons house, I hope the bastard insurance companies will pay up and pay up quick.

That pregnant women will never forget what you did for her.

[Alyman]

Great work! A lot of courage and skill being shown there

Here's hoping that everything gets back to normal for those affected as soon as possible.

[Andy335Touring]

What a bummer , i hope all gets back to normal ASAP !

[slinky2000]

jesus lads you guys in the uk are havin a terrible time of it, in ireland its not too bad, lol

[HairyScreech]

only just read through this, didnt realise it had got so bad down there (dont tend to pay much attention to the news)

[gareth]

i admit, i was fairly ignorant to what was going on.

well done all though, you are true heroes and i salute you!!!

pass on my regards to Dameon and co.

[Demlotcrew]

I hope things get better soon!

Hows the car?

[d6dph]

Jesus wept! That's stuff nightmares are made of.

Bruce/Paul, Do you know i Dameons mobile is working, If so I will send him a text to let him know my best wishes are with him.

Once again, You guys are absolute heros. A pint on me if we ever get to meet.

[B7]

Incredible. Please send my best to Dameon and his family.

Here near Gatwick it's been the worst I even seen. The M23 was shut and the a217 at Burgh Heath was under water as well. I think they said that here, 4 or 5 times the amount of water fell in a few hours than normally falls the entire month.

Having said that it was nothing anywhere near that. My thoughts go out to he and his family.

and you two????

YOUR F*CKING LEGENDS. Obviously the best mates one could have. Well done.

[munky30]

holy shit bruce! I'm stunned, you f*cking hero!

All the best to dameon, hope things work out ok.

[ZedOne]

Bruce/Paul, Do you know i Dameons mobile is working, If so I will send him a text to let him know my best wishes are with him.

Dave, his mobile is working, but reception is intermittent so he might not get it straight away?

I know he'd really appreciate a text - it's little things like that which keep you going in stressful circumstances (and I think this could be classed as stressful... )

Thanks again for all the support guys - I'll pass your comments on when I speak to Dameon later today.

[ZedOne]

When I changed my sig recently, I never meant it quite this literally!!



Shame there weren't any boats to moor on it That would have made such a great pic!

This was taken about 8am on Sunday - by 3pm it was about another 2ft deeper! (M20's b1oody hurt when you can't see them underwater and stub your toe/crack your knee on them!! )

[munky30]

Is that at your place?

Is that your old engine?

[ZedOne]

At Damo's place. My touring is in his neighbours barn up the hill with an empty engine bay!

M52 currently sat in the middle of a country lane with a tarp over (couldn't get it any further up the hill and more important stuff needed saving!)

Good job I've got the Mystery Machine heh??

[Morat]

Just phoned Bruce and it sounds like The Day After Tomorrow down there

[Skip]

You total hero Bruce! Such a shame that after all Dameons good work pulling people out he got affected by it too...

Got any pics of the Delica? I have been showing people at work the pics and they want to see what vehicle can get through stuff like that!

[Ziggy]

The true meaning of the words 'Hero Chariot':

[Skip]

Cheers Ziggy - beast!!

[ZedOne]

The true meaning of the words 'Hero Chariot':

....and now hopefully signed up as an official response vehicle for the Bristol, Gloucester and Wiltshire Red Cross!

Might be doing some more mods to it to make it even better in situations like that (internal snorkel, rear winch etc....) but it does a fairly good job as it is!

One proud owner....

[munky30]

Its a bit of an animal... needs a bigger lift and bigger wheels... and a v8.

[eko]

One proud owner....

anbd so you should be mate

[d6dph]

That's like a grown up tonka toy! Quality stuff.

Bruce Can you pm me the number Dameon is using just so I can check I have the right number.