A teacher and his son saved more than 20 people from the South Yorkshire floods using their rubber dinghy.
Mark Ibbertson, 49, and son Logan, 13, rushed to Doncaster suburb Bentley after the River Don burst its banks, flooding homes and causing hundreds of thousands of pounds damage.
The pair, dressed in wetsuits, then took babies, children, the elderly and pets to safety in their summer holiday dinghy.
Mark, from nearby Sprotbrough, said: “We turned up at 9.30am on Friday and we didn’t stop until 4pm. It was freezing and our hands were cramping by the end.
“We were carrying children, babies and the elderly to the dinghy, getting them to safety and getting them warm.
“It was easily 20-plus people – we had dogs, cats, lots of old people, babies. Even a hedgehog.
“I was picking people up and carrying them. What else could I do? You just get on with it.”
Mark, who teaches engineering in Barnsley, added: “An elderly couple I rescued were in a bad way.
"The man was 83 and had a heart problem. I put them in my van to keep them warm. My father was also there.”
Dementia victim Kenneth Wingfield, 78, was saved by Mark.
His son Kevin, 51, said: “We don’t know what we would have done without Mark. The emergency services were nowhere to be seen.”
Many Bentley residents couldn’t get home or contents insurance because their properties were also flooded in 2007.
Debbie Hanlon, 50, says it will cost her £20,000 to replace furniture, flooring and her kitchen. “I cried all night,” she said.
Robert Cordon, 35, said Mark saved his children Alfie, five, who is autistic, and Alicia, three.
Families said sandbags were delivered too late and dehumidifiers didn’t appear.
Diane Cordon, 55, said: “It is disgusting. We have had no help. I called the council this morning and they said to phone back on Monday!”
