THREE children and their mother were trapped on a bridge as flood water rose around them after the engine of their Mercedes car cut out.

A fire crew had to be called out just before 6pm yesterday after the woman attempted to drive through a "lake" which was rapidly developing on the Tockwith side of Cattal Bridge, over the River Nidd.

Shortly after the family was rescued, a queue of other unsuspecting motorists also tried to cross the channel of water, until their engines flooded and drivers had to get out and push.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said: "The woman who was with three children had driven through flood water, believed to be about one to two feet deep.

"She got on to the bridge and attempted to drive through the flood water on the other side. She didn't realise it was about five feet deep. It immediately flooded her engine. Luckily it did, otherwise she would have floated away.

"A passer-by in a Range Rover pulled her back on to the bridge and called for assistance."

Another driver, Ann Thompson, of Tollerton, had crossed the watery path and reached the edge before her Suzuki shuddered to a halt at about 3.30pm.

"They hadn't closed the road at that point and it wasn't that deep as I was going across. It happened as another car was going the other way," she said.

The recovery company which went to the scene said the problem with her car was "hydraulic and terminal".

"I had to get out and push it out," she said, drying her toes as she waited for her car to be towed away four hours later.

"There were three of us pushing. We got four or five cars out. Fortunately, mine is dry as a bone inside."

Renault driver Graham Dorward, who lives in Snaith, stalled in the water at 5pm.

"There was no one there to stop the traffic so everyone piled in," he said. "Traffic was coming over the bridge. I followed the other cars. Then someone got stuck in front of me.

"I was just sitting there, with water rising around me and starting to come through my doors. Some people came and pushed the car out."

Updated: 09:59 Saturday, August 21, 2004