Essex floods: Bus overtakes cars queuing on flooded road only to drive into hidden ditch

Vehicle overtakes waiting motorists before tilting dangerously to one side and falling in ditch

A stranded bus had to be rescued after it overtook a queue of cars and got stuck in flood water in Essex.

Motorists watched on in shock as the Stephensons bus drove straight into the water at high tide in Creeksea Ferry Road, Wallasea Island.

Video footage shows the vehicle misjudging where the road is and tilting dangerously to the right before falling into a ditch.

One person can be heard saying “he had to do it didn’t he” and “what an idiot” while another suggests calling 999.

Ann May, who lives nearby, posted video on Facebook describing how the driver “overtakes several cars waiting to leave Wallasea due to the high tide and drives straight into the river”.

The bus driver and a single passenger had to be rescued by emergency services but were unhurt following the accident on Saturday.

A flood alert had been issued across Essex earlier that day, warning people to take care near coastal areas.

Emergency services had to rescue a bus driver and a passenger after a bus drove through high tide water and became stuck in a ditch in Wallasea Island, Essex, on 23 March 2019. (Essex Police)

The bus company said an investigation into what happened was under way.

Firefighters had to rescue people from stranded vehicles and pump water away from roads after a month’s worth of rain fell in the space of 24 hours earlier this month.

The worst-hit areas were Capel Curig, in Wales, which saw 136.6mm of rainfall, and much of Yorkshire.