By Elizabeth Broughton

Last updated at 19:49, Tuesday, 02 February 2010

Daniel Bancroft watched the River Cocker rise as he stood with a cup of tea at the door of his grandmother’s house.

Daniel Bancroft

NOMINEES: Daniel Bancroft and Ryan Moore  CATEGORY: Good Neighbours

The 28-year-old already knew about the flood warnings – he’d gone to the house, on Croft Terrace, to help his grandmother move her belongings upstairs.

But, as he and his friend, Ryan Moore, 29, watched water from the Cocker spill into the street, they began to realise that the events of Thursday, November 19, could be far more serious than they’d anticipated.

“No-one knew how high it was going to get then,” recalled Daniel, of Waste Lane.

“We started bracing the front door, but to no avail. When the water started getting just below our knees we decided to go and get our boat.

“We do a lot of fishing and we’d just bought a new boat. We knew you could use it in shallow water.”

At that point Daniel and Ryan, of Bellbrigg Lonning, couldn’t imagine the gruelling day that lay ahead of them.

Daniel’s grandmother was able to walk along South Street to higher ground, but the pair used their boat to rescue her elderly neighbour, who was confined to his living room and unable to get out alone.

It was the start of five hours of tiring and dangerous work for the friends, as they used their boat to help firefighters ferrying people from their homes.

“We just went to get that one bloke out but we ended up being out all day,” said Daniel.

“It wasn’t scary, because I’ve not long got out of the Army and it wasn’t as scary as stuff I did in the Army.

“When we went down Waterloo Street, behind Main Street, in the evening, both me and Ryan are quite tall and I was on my tip toes holding on to the boat, getting people out of their homes.

“There was a bit of fatigue setting in, we were getting cold because we’d been doing it for hours and hours. It’s hard work when you’ve been doing it all day.

“But, at the time, we didn’t realise how dangerous it could’ve been.”

In total, the two friends and their 14ft boat were responsible for rescuing more than 40 people from the rising waters.

Pete Bancroft, Daniel’s father, nominated his son and Ryan for their “personal courage and endurance”.

Looking back on that day, he said: “After five hours of selfless and dangerous work, I thought I had lost him. My guts churned as he and his friend and two firefighters disappeared into a side street and a raging torrent, in which they had to tip toe to keep above the water level.

“Out of sight and worse out of radio communications, I have never felt such a hollow sickness and knee folding fear. When he did emerge from the torrent and I cried with relief.”

Daniel lost his van and his prized fishing tackle during the rescue operation, and the pair also lost their boat’s motor, which they were forced to unhitch as it was too cumbersome.

First published at 11:27, Tuesday, 02 February 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk