A DRIVER was rescued by police after becoming stuck in the mud near Graffham last night (February 10).
The 82-year old Dorset man took a detour from the flooded A27 at Chichester and found himself trapped on an isolated road for several hours overnight.
Police found the motorist and his car after a night time search lasting more than four hours.
The man was driving from Newhaven towards his Dorset home when he was diverted off the A27 at Chichester due to surface flooding late last night.
He then became lost and eventually his car, a Jaguar, became stuck in mud in an isolated lane between Graffham and East Lavington.
He rang Sussex Police at 10.40pm, and a spokesman said: “Officers began to search for him but due to the pitch black darkness, bad weather, and the very isolated area, they could not find him and the battery on his mobile phone had gone flat.”
Meanwhile officers in the police control room carried out a detailed analysis of electronic records from his call and managed to establish his exact whereabouts – enabling a ground unit to get to him in Norwood Lane, between Graffham and East Lavington, just before 3.30am this morning.
A police 4x4 vehicle then pulled the car clear and the man went on his way, tired but unharmed and not in need of medical attention.
A Sussex Police spokesman said: “We don’t know exactly how the driver ended up in this very out of the way spot but we are very glad that thanks to the combined work of our control room staff and officers on the ground we were able to find him despite the darkness, and the difficult weather conditions.”