Man rescued from sinking car after crashing into pond in Heveningham, near Halesworth

Police officers have been praised for their quick action after rescuing a man from a car which veered off the road into a pond and was filling with water.

At 1.20am on Sunday, the monitoring system of a BMW X7 alerted officer that the vehicle had been involved in a collision in Heveningham, near Halesworth.

The driver was able to tell the operator he had crashed into a large pond and the car was filling with water.

He was unable to get out of the car and was stuck in an air pocket in the boot.

Officers arrived at the scene and managed to locate the car, which was almost fully submerged in water.

They deployed a throw line, which the man managed to grab hold of and with a team effort, they dragged him out of the car and then out of the water.

The ambulance services and fire crews also arrived at the scene and the man was taken to hosptial to be checked over and later discharged.

Inspector Liz Casey, policing commander for Halesworth, said: “This incident could’ve had a very different ending had it not been for the actions of these officers.

“Not only did they respond quickly to the 999 call, they managed to locate the submerged vehicle in the dark and took immediate action to rescue the driver.

“Time was very much of the essence and I would like to commend this fantastic team effort, which I believe undoubtedly saved the man’s life.”

The driver was initially arrested for failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis, but later provided a sample of blood in hospital.

He remains under investigation pending the outcome of the blood tests.