A MOBILITY scooter rider had to be rescued by firefighters...after they got stuck in a flooded underpass.

The motor on the battery powered buggy konked out after the owner unsuccessfully tried to get through up to 2ft of water – just a day after heavy rain filled the subway beneath Southend Road, Wickford.

Traffic also came to a standstill above the underpass after a pedestrian who opted to try and run across the road, nearly got mown down by a car.

Many people chose to risk their lives and cross the busy dual carriageway to avoid having to wade through the floodwater.

The firefighters, from Basildon fire station, pumped out the rain from the underpass, but angry residents and councillors believe it is only a matter of time before the problem arrives again.

Peter Holliman, Ukip councillor for WickfordNorth, said concerned staff and parents from Hilltop Junior School, in Hilltop Avenue, and Beauchamps High School, in Beauchamps Drive, had been in touch about the dangerous situation.

He added: “It’s justamatter of time before someone is seriously hurt.

“Children were having to run across the main road on their way to or from school, or take off their shoes and socks to wade through the underpass.

“As children get older, parents like to give them more independence and let them walk on their own, but this is going to ruin it because everytime it rains, the underpass floods and it just isn’t safe.

“Luckily this time the firefighters pumped the water out, but it isn’t their responsibility and it was only because there was an emergency.

“We really need a pump kept down there all the time, but then someone has got to pay to power it and we would need to store it.”

Karen Regan, 44, of Hyde Way, said she is left stranded every time it rains as she is blind.

She added: “It has got to the point where every time there is a bit of rain, I really panic. I end up having to pay for a taxi if I want to go out because there is no way I can risk crossing the road or getting stuck in the underpass.

“I’ve got a 14 year-old daughter at Beauchamps and I’m really scared for her too.

“It’s about time we got a permanent solution.”

The firefighters spent an hour-and-a-half at the scene after being called shortly after 10.30am on Thursday.