Stranded motorists rescued from rising waters

PANICKED motorists had to be rescued from waters up to four feet deep in parts of Dublin after the weekend’s record rainfall trapped them in flash floods.

Civil Defence officers in snorkel-equipped landrovers had to turn back and call in their ex-army trucks to take families to safety from the back road to Dublin Airport after the fast-rising waters caught them unawares.

“There were 12-15 cars in particular that were in a very bad way,” said the officer in charge, Commandant John Moriarty. “Flood water is a terrifying thing and when you’re stuck in a car in the middle of it, you’re helpless.”