Rescue team called after car submerged in rising water in North Yorkshire

The vehicle became trapped at Hob Hole, near Castleton, in the North York Moors, in the early hours of Tuesday.

Cleveland Mountain Rescue Team was contacted at 12.31am by North Yorkshire Police and spent more than five hours at the scene.

Swift water rescue technicians (SRTs) were dispatched to assist.

A spokesman for the team said: “Upon arrival the police asked the volunteer team members to check that there was no-one in the car.

“Due to the force of the water the SRTs were unable to enter the water but searched from the nearby footbridge using long reach poles.

“Once reasonably satisfied that the car was empty the SRTs working in teams of five carried out a bank-side search immediately downstream of the car.

“After a few hours with nothing found and in liaison with the police the mountain rescue search parties stood-down for the night pending further enquiries by the police and any further requests from them for assistance.”

More than 20 team members were deployed on the incident, which lasted about five hours.

In a social media post, North Yorkshire Moors Moorland Organisation, said four men from Middlesbrough had been in the vehicle, describing them as "idiots".

The post from yesterday added: "After becoming stranded in the high rising water their comment to a local resident after they themselves had managed to get to the roadside was 'ere mate av ya got any rope'. 

"Needless to say the car was still in the water this morning.

"There is no way in the rising waters last night that a 'rope' would have got this vehicle removed from the ford.

"The waters this morning have eased slightly so we’re curious to see who is being tasked with recovering the vehicle and what if any damage to the bridge there is."