Online videos of wild drivers lead Nottinghamshire county council to close Rufford ford (original) (raw)

A river crossing has been closed after the success of online videos showing cars ploughing through its deep water led to more being stranded.

Nottinghamshire county council closed Rufford ford after residents complained that drivers were speeding up before hitting the ford, which can be several feet deep.

In 2018 the AA said that in five years it had rescued 100 drivers, more than at any other location in the UK.

In 2020 videos of cars becoming stranded were first uploaded to YouTube. Since then YouTubers and TikTokkers have been arriving in the hope of capturing footage of a stranding.

Residents said this had led to increasingly gung-ho driving in the hope of either becoming a YouTube stranding sensation or at least delivering a thorough soaking to the larger crowds.

Ian Tucker told the Nottingham Post last month: “It’s really dangerous for pedestrians when they are racing through it with the way people are revving up and showing off for the camera.”

Susan Whitehead said that navigating the ford was a “spectator sport” and she “never dared go through it”.

Neil Clarke, from the council, said that while the ford had “become popular with locals and those from further afield . . . dangerous driving in this area cannot continue”.