Two School Boys Sucked Into Underground Pipe As Floods Sweep Northern England

A 12-year-old schoolboy and his friend were sucked through a pipe after they slipped in flood water as they made their way home from school.

The floods dragged them underwater and flung them out of the other side of the pipe as they walked to their homes in Lincolnshire last week.

Heavy rainfall last week flooded huge swathes of the north last week, meaning their usual pathway was covered in water and that they didn't see the pipe.

Having being dragged underwater for a few seconds, the lads couldn't breathe and they, understandably, feared they could lose their lives as they had no idea where they could end up.

Euan Bottomley and Luke Davies were both sucked through the pipe. Euan was sucked in first and Luke then followed as he tried to grab his pal's bag to save him.

Speaking to Lincolnshire Live, Euan said: "It sucked me in with a lot of force, so much so that I didn't have time to hang on.

"I thought at first I would just get my feet a bit wet and thought the water might go up to my knee. When I fell in I was fully submerged.

"I don't remember getting out. I just remember putting my head up out of the water about a metre from where I came out."

He added: "The river was so overflowing that we couldn't actually see the pipe. It was so overflowing we didn't know the river was there - we couldn't tell."

His dad, Stephen, said: "He told me he had been holding his breath for five to six seconds - but it felt like forever.

"Both lads thought they were going to die. It needs a bit of metal to stop people going through or they could both be dead.

"Both kids could have been dead and we wouldn't have known for hours. You don't think about looking through a pipe."

Homes across the north have been flooded, with one woman found dead in Derbyshire on Friday last week.

Her body was tragically recovered from flood water in Darley Dale, following reports that someone had been swept away by the rising waters.

A Derbyshire Police spokesman said: "The woman was reported as having been swept away by flood water in Rowsley and the body of what is believed to be the same woman was found in Darley Dale and was recovered at 10.40am."

Featured Image Credit: MEN Media

Topics: uk news

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

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