Driver saved from car after plunging into water in Southend

A car has been pulled from the water in Southend after it plunged into the sea near Olivers Café, Westcliff.

The coastguard was called to the scene at around 1:40 yesterday afternoon, and when they arrived the driver had been rescued from the car by members of the public.

In a statement, the Coastguard thanked those who helped:

"HM Coastguard Southend would like to say a huge thanks to the members of the public who entered the water, at risk to themselves, to help extract the casualty from the vehicle in what was a very dynamic incident which was evolving quickly before emergency first responders could reach the scene.

Whilst we would never encourage members of the public to put themselves at risk, when they do and there is a successful outcome, it shows the community spirit we have in our City when someone goes to help someone in need.

As the persons involved had already left the scene we were not able to speak and thank them directly."

HM Coastguard, Essex Police and East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust (EEAST) then conducted further investigations talking to witnesses and to ensure that the casualty was receiving the right care.

The Coastguard were then re-tasked at 6.30pm to coordinate the extraction of the car, working with Essex Police Vehicle Recovery team.

The car was later safely removed and it was determined there were no pollutants in the area from the car.

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