Todmorden dad saves 11 month old son as car sinks in floodwater

A young father from Todmorden has shared his terrifying experience of being trapped in his sinking car with his infant son during the recent heavy rainfall. Andre Randles had mistakenly driven into what he believed to be shallow water, only to find himself stranded as his vehicle began to sink.

In a desperate bid for survival, he managed to extract his 11-month-old son from the window of the Volkswagen hatchback just moments before it submerged beneath the surface on Woodhouse Road, adjacent to the River Calder.

Recalling the harrowing incident, he said: "As soon as I saw the water rising, literally a minute later, I knew I had to get out and get my son out, so I wound down the window, climbed out and pulled him out."

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His terrified girlfriend, Paige Newsome, added: "By the time he'd got out of the car, got Luca out of the car, the water was up to his chest. It just shows how quickly things can escalate. If they hadn't escaped the car, they wouldn't have survived, which is the truly frightening part."

Earlier on Saturday, flood sirens had sounded throughout the Calder Valley, warning of imminent flooding. Although the flood defences managed to hold back the River Calder, several homes and businesses were flooded, and roads rendered impassable due to surface water and melting snow.

Labour MP for Calder Valley, Josh Fenton-Glynn, commented: "We are at the frontline of climate shocks here in Calder Valley. Rest assured I will continue to raise the issues we face with flooding at the highest levels of government."