A CAR was rescued after it crashed into a village pond in West Hagbourne last night.

Fire crews rushed to the scene at 10.59pm to find a car completely submerged in the water, with only the roof and tailgate showing.

A member of the public was already in the pond trying to break into the car to see if there was anyone trapped inside.

With no witnesses to the crash, the crews donned specialist water rescue equipment to conduct a full search of both the car and surrounding water. 

Thames Valley Police were able to confirm that the only person in the car had freed themselves, prior to the emergency services arriving on scene. 

Incident commander, watch manager Steve Wright from Didcot Fire Station, said: “The individual is extremely fortunate to have not sustained personal injury, and due to the depth and temperature of the water the consequences of this incident could have been far worse.

"We would like to remind everyone that even with the late summer we have been enjoying, bodies of water are not as warm as people think, and the onset of hypothermia can occur very quickly when you are not wearing specialist water personal protective equipment.

"We would also like to remind all drivers to pay full regard to the road conditions, being mindful of how their driving needs to be appropriate for the time of day and weather conditions, especially now that the climate is changing from summer to autumn."

The cause of the incident is being investigated by Thames Valley Police.

No other people or vehicles were involved.