Todmorden: Dad pulls 11-month-old baby from sinking car after they became trapped in chest-height floodwater

A dad had to pull his baby from the window of his sinking car when his vehicle became trapped in floodwater at the weekend.

Andre Randles, 22, was driving to Todmorden in West Yorkshire with his 11-month-old son Luca on November 23, when he had to leave the main route due to a road closure. Mr Randles said a dip on Woodhouse Road meant he had no time to avoid the flooded area.

Speaking to ITV, Mr Randles said: “I’ve hit a dip and gone straight into a puddle and my car started floating. I saw water coming up. I tried the electric window and luckily that worked, so I wound down both of our windows. I climbed out and then got Luca out. The water was about up to chest height, so I was carrying Luca above my head.”

Moments later, the car was almost completely submerged.

Residents of a nearby house offered the family a place to keep warm and dry while Mr Randles rang recovery services.

The couple have since learnt of past incidents where cars have got caught in floodwater at the same place, and think measures should be introduced to stop it happening again.