Hero firefighter Chris Harding-Hook has been nominated for a Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award for some quick-thinking Christmas Eve heroics that saved two lives.
Chris is included on the shortlist of four for the awards' Emergency Services honour and t he show, in partnership with TSB, will be broadcast on ITV on November 4 at 8pm.
Ahead of the big day, Chris tells Matt Roper how the award nomination has made him proud of "what we did as a team".
Firefighter Chris was on duty on Christmas Eve last year when an emergency call came in about a car caught in flash floods between two Norfolk villages.
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An elderly man and his female carer were on their way to do last minute Christmas shopping in Norwich when they drove into flood waters under a railway bridge and the engine stalled.
The pair, who called 999, were left trapped as the fast flowing water meant they couldn’t open the car doors.
Chris, a red watch manager at Sprowston station in Norwich, remembers: “As we were en route we were informed they were up to their necks in water.
"Then we were informed that either the phone had gone under water, or they had lost control and the line had gone dead.”
By the time he arrived at the scene the car was virtually submerged and Chris realised they only had seconds to rescue them.
He took off his coat and helmet and waded over to the car, without a life jacket or any water rescue equipment.
Chris, 53, recalls: “As I walked in I did have a look up and think, ‘I hope I see my kids again’ and secondly as it got deeper and deeper, that I wished I was taller!
“I banged on the roof and at that point I heard a scream or a shout that was gurgly, almost like it was from underwater.
“I couldn’t get the door open straight away so I smashed the window and put my arm inside and I then managed to get hold of something that felt like a human being. They then grabbed me so I knew there was life in there.
“I wasn’t letting go of them because they could float further into the car, and at that point I opened the car door, grabbed hold of them, pulled them out and got their head above water.”
The pair were taken to hospital to be checked over, but later released.
Chris says: “I believe the lady actually spent Christmas Day at home with her family.
“Being nominated for a Pride of Britain award makes you proud of what we did as a team together. That family could have had a completely different Christmas, but she was home having Christmas dinner with her family the next day, and for me that’s what really matters. It’s nice to be recognised, but we did our job.”
