A man who lives in Fakenham travelled more than 320 miles across Norfolk over 16 hours in order to pull stranded motorists to safety.
Thomas Ware, who lives on Holt Road in Fakenham, posted on social media telling people to contact him if they needed help and he was soon travelling all over north Norfolk.
He said he didn’t hesitate to act and took to the roads in his heavily modified 4x4 Mitsubishi Pajero at 7am on Thursday morning and didn’t stop until midnight.
“I couldn’t just sit at home when I’ve got a very capable vehicle to help out,” he said. “My truck has lots of modifications and huge mud terrain tyres so it didn’t get stuck all day.
“A few people had been stuck for an hour or so, others I got there 10 to 15 minutes after and about 10 I watched get stuck. Quite a few were in dangerous positions, one nearly had a head on with a lorry on the Fakenham to Swaffham road and he had to go straight up a bank.”
The most common problem he came across was cars getting stuck in deep banks of snow, which meant he had to drive through the banks himself in order to get in front of them and tow them out of it.
“Most were cars stuck in a foot of snow but I was also able to help four 4x4s that had become stuck in about 3 foot thinking they could pass through it,” he added.
Last year, Mr Ware narrowly avoided being assaulted with a 2ft pipe wrench when car thieves attempted to steal his 4x4.
Looking back at the incident, he said he was feeling glad they hadn’t managed to make off with the vehicle and he is making sure he is putting it to good use.
Mr Ware is among a number of other local heroes who have put themselves in danger in order to rescue others.
Among them is Lee Webster, from Dereham, who rescued drivers stranded on the A47 by getting out of his car and taking it upon himself to direct traffic and make way for a snow plough, clearing a vital hospital slip road.
And a farmer in Ashill who used his tractor to tow a snow plough out of the snow. An onlooker said the farmer was “working throughout the night” to get the plough free.
Were you saved from a dangerous situation on mid-Norfolk roads this week? Tell us your story, email steve.shaw@archant.co.uk
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