A GOOD Samaritan took the plunge to recover 35 sandbags, used as flood defences, after they were ‘pushed’ into a river.
Ben Pearson, of Henry Street, Low Valley, took matters into his own hands after the Low Valley Flood Group voiced their dismay.
Ben spent half of the day finding the submerged bags and dragging them onto the side of the river.
Members of the community posted photos of Ben in the water to social media where he received an outpouring of support.
Ben, 25, said: “When I heard that the bags had been pushed into the water, I had to help out.
“The floods in the area can be quite bad, and I didn’t want my neighbours to be at risk. I didn’t really think about it.
“Especially during a virus outbreak and people staying at home, I didn’t want to take the risk.”
Ben thanked local residents that came out to show their support or shared encouragement online.
“It was definitely cold and the bags were very heavy, but I didn’t really think about it once I got moving,” he said.
“It took me a while to get all the sandbags out of the water.
“The community spirit was amazing. I’ve had people saying really positive things, people were cheering me on and offering to help.
“I did it off my own back, as I knew I could handle it. I’m glad the bags have been put back to normal now.”
Sue Bradshaw, chair of the Low Valley Flood Group, added: “I couldn’t believe it. For people to push those sandbags into the river in the first place was disheartening.
“People need to understand the reason that those sandbags are there and what troubles it would cause if they weren’t.”
Sue, alongside the Low Valley Flood Group, is raising money to provide each household in the area with two boxes of sandbags to help tackle potential future floods.
“I’m thrilled to bits that Ben managed to recover them all.
“It shows that the community are really behind this, and I want to thank Ben for all of his time and hard work to get the bags out of the water.”
