'I had to act or it was over': Hero saves mum and girl from car submerged in floodwater

Watch the moment that Liam Stych and his partner Tia Draper managed to rescue a mum and her three-year-old daughter from a car trapped in floodwater.

A bystander who rescued a mother and her three-year-old daughter from a car caught in floodwater has told ITV News he "had to act or it was over".

Liam Stych, who's from Birmingham, managed to save the woman and her toddler from a car submerged in floodwater near a bridge on Green Lane in Hall Green.

If faced with the same situation Mr Stych said that "he'd do it again and again".

In an interview with ITV News Central, he said: "As soon as the back end started floating I phoned 999 and gave them the location."

'As soon as I saw the current it was either do nothing or something'

Mr Stych adds: "I basically told them where we were and then from that point, she hit the current so I had to act then or it was over. It was either do nothing or do something at that point."

He smashed the back passenger window and managed to grab the child and get her to safety.

He then ran back to his van to get ratchet straps and secured the car to the bridge so it would not drift away.

This enabled him to get the mother out of the car which was submerged in water.

Credit: Shammim Uddin

His partner, Tia Draper, who is five months pregnant, helped in rescuing the three-year-old girl from the flood water.

She said: "Liam lifted her up by the arm and threw her to me over the railing so I sort of caught her and tried to keep her warm in my jacket.

"So I was like 'Get in my jacket to keep warm!'. And then he got the mother out.

"I thought it wasn't real at the time."

West Midlands Police said on X, formerly known as Twitter: "A Local hero in Hall Green entered the flood water and rescued a three-year-old child and the driver, before securing the vehicle to the bridge to prevent it being washed away. Hero."

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