Police slam "selfish" 4X4 drivers who had to be rescued after "playing" in River Wyre

Police have shared a picture of the scene, which shows two 4X4s in the ford across Wyre Lane, with one appearing stuck and in need of rescue.

Officers with Wyre Neighbourhood Policing Team say the four-wheel-drivers had been "playing" in the water, whilst friends watched from a nearby footbridge.

Sgt Guy Hamlett has criticised the "selfish" drivers who had put themselves at risk entering the water and suggests that they might have been breaching lockdown restrictions.

He said: "This type of activity not only risks the drivers’ lives due to the inherent risks associated with driving through deep water, but also risks the lives of anybody that may have to respond to a completely avoidable emergency situation.

"Reports stated that 4x4 drivers had been using their vehicles to ‘play’ in the river, whilst their friends have used the footbridge to watch.

"Sadly, it also risks putting additional strain on our NHS colleagues, who are battling hard right now to save our loved ones.

"The vast majority of people are continuing to follow the lockdown rules in order to save lives. We are really proud of our law-abiding Wyre residents and are massively grateful for this, in the face of personal hardships.

"However, the selfish minority of people that choose to deliberately flout and disregard the law can expect to have enforcement action taken against them very quickly, including being fined."

The 4X4s were eventually rescued by a local farmer using his tractor to pull them to safety.

Sgt Hamlett said his officers will be regularly patrolling the area and will take "rapid, robust action" if they believe people are breaking the law.

It's not the first time that 4X4s have had to be rescued when trying to cross the Wyre Lane ford. Last summer, a Mitsubishi L200 4x4 tried to drive through around 4ft of water but soon became trapped.

Police were called to the scene and a volunteer force of local agricultural workers came to the rescue with a trio of tractors. You can read more about the rescue in our story below...

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