IT TOOK nine firefighters and a small yellow dinghy to rescue two workers stranded in just one foot of water.
Window fitters Michael Goldhawk and his colleague, called Josh, were left marooned when the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation flooded near to Paper Mill Lock in Little Baddow on Monday morning.
The workers, from Norwich-based Anglia First Home Improvements, were on their way to a job when they attempted to drive their Renault van through the murky water.
But they said they were soon hit by a three foot wall of water after the nearby canal overflowed, shortly after 9am.
"They asked permission to drive through it," said their boss, installation manager Kyle Huggins. "But as soon as they did the banks burst and they were stranded . They told me the water nearly knocked the van over."
They called the fire service, and within an hour nine fire fighters and a team from the Urban Search and Rescue unit were towing the embarrassed men to safety.
Now the pair are the talk of the office and have been on the receiving end of some gentle work-place ribbing. "They caused quite a kerfuffle," said Mr Huggins. "But the directors think it's quite funny.
"They are really decent blokes but, I suppose, we're all wondering why they didn't just get out and walk."
The flooding was caused by weekend rainfall and rapidly melting snow.
By mid-morning on Sunday the Environment Agency had issued 90 flood warnings for east and south-east England.
Essex Fire and Rescue Divisional Officer Neil Fenwick said: "It is astonishing just how many motorists have driven their car into flood water and need our help to get themselves, and often their families, out of their predicament. It happens every time there is flooding.
"When faced with water, drivers should exercise a little common sense. If they can, they should find an alternative route. If there is no way round they should park safely, get out and check the depth of the water before they drive into it.
"Just driving into water and hoping for the best is not an option. By the time you find out the water is too deep you are already trapped."
He said that just two feet of water was enough to float a car and that six inches would reach the underside of most family cars.
And, he added, drivers should never attempt to drive through water deeper than the centre of their wheels.
"If water gets into the car's air intake or into the electrics the car will stop, leaving the driver and passengers trapped," he said.
