A HERO driver came to the rescue of an elderly man stranded in his vehicle in deep flood waters.

Lee Black, from Ambleside, was on his way back from Kendal in the afternoon of Tuesday, January 23. As he came towards Bannerigg, near Windermere, traffic was at a standstill due to the flooded road - this was when he spotted a car on the other side of the road half covered in water.

As Mr Black was sitting in traffic, he looked out and noticed an elderly man in his 70s inside the vehicle.

"People were just going past and going around him, and he was stuck in the middle and couldn't get out," said the 45-year-old.

"His car was filling with water so I put the window down and waved at him. I then gestured to him if he wanted a push. He nodded his head and gave me a thumbs up so I pulled out and walked through the water.

"Luckily, it wasn't too heavy of a car, and I managed to push it out. Once I pushed him out of the water and he was able to move around then, a couple of guys pulled up in a Land Rover Discovery, and they asked if he needed towing anywhere, so then they towed him out of the way."

Mr Black said he felt sorry for the old man and that he couldn't leave him stranded on the road.

"I have no idea how long he had been there for. He might have been there five minutes or half an hour," he said.

"I just wanted to get him out of the flooding, really - nobody wants that. Nobody wants to be stuck in a flood helpless.

"I felt like I had to do something - I wish I had my wellies on though!"