Hornsea: Car floats on South Promenade after sea wall is breached

The car was spotted by lifeboat coxswain Karl Shannon early on Monday

A car was left floating on a promenade after waves breached the sea wall.

Karl Shannon, a coxswain with Hornsea Inshore Rescue, spotted the vehicle on the town's South Promenade early on Monday.

He confirmed nobody was in the car, as a spokesperson for East Riding of Yorkshire Council said it had closed the road.

Mr Shannon said: "The water was a good 6ft deep (1.8m) in parts. The driver had a lucky escape."

In January 2017, Mr Shannon rescued a woman and her two grandchildren from a car in almost identical circumstances.

"Fortunately, this time was nobody inside this vehicle," he said.

"We're seeing some big tides at Hornsea at the moment. All it takes is a few big waves breaking over the seawall and the road is under water."

Mr Shannon made sure there was nobody inside the vehicle

Mr Shannon, who has volunteered with Hornsea Inshore Rescue for 27 years, suggested visitors to the town may not be aware of the dangers.

"When you approach South Promenade, the water only looks about a foot deep. But the road dips and before you know it you could be floating in four or five feet of water.

"Waves also carry a lot of debris. You'd be surprised at the size of some of the rocks that are thrown over the sea wall.

"Overtopping of the sea wall seems to be happening more frequently."

Mr Shannon said he stopped about six vehicles attempting to drive through the water before authorities closed the road.

"Don't drive through flood water," he said. "It only takes a few inches of water to get into trouble."

An East Riding of Yorkshire Council spokesperson said: "We have closed South Promenade at Hornsea this morning due to flooding caused by the high tide, with waves overtopping the sea wall.

"Another high tide is expected this evening so the road will remain closed until at least until tomorrow morning as a precaution. Our teams are continuing to monitor the situation."

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