Incident 13

For details of the incident - see the text after the last photo

Young Lady stuck in snow then mud

I was out walking with my dog in the recent snow when I heard the lovely sound of tyres spinning in a nearby road. I casually wandered around the corner and crossed over to the other side where there were bushes and trees that the dog could have a sniff around in. That gave me a good reason to stand next to the road and have a good look as to who was spinning their tyres in the snow. The road I was in was the same one where my neighbour got stuck trying to get into her driveway (see Incident ). It is a cull de sac with a nice steep little slope up to the brow of a hill, followed by a flat area along to the junction with the main road.

I looked down the hill and saw that an Estate car was reversing back down to the flat area at the far end of the cull de sac. It was obvious that the driver had span to a halt on the hill and was going back for another attempt. It was dark and so with the headlight on and facing me, I could not see who was driving.

I stood back against the bushes as the car started along the flat area and headed towards the slope. To start with all was well and they managed to keep going. However, as the slope got steeper so I heard the wheels start to loose traction. The car started to slow, but instead of easing off on the accelerator, the driver instead increased the engine speed, which just made the wheels spin even faster and the car slow down even more. I could not have arranged for what happened next if I had wanted to. The car came slowly up the slope towards me and gradually span to a halt almost right in front of me. I was then stood facing the passenger door and had a clear view of the lady driver, thanks to the decent street lamps.

She was aged about 20, with long dark hair and of slim build. I stood and watched as she continued to rev the engine and just sat there with her front wheels spinning round and round at speed right in front of me.

After about 30 seconds she stopped. I expected her to immediately start to reverse but she did not. I wondered if she had seen me and was waiting for me to offer to help. I decided not to disappoint her, and so I stepped forwards and tapped on the passenger window. She put the electric window down and I said: "Do you need a push?” She looked lovely and in a sort of pleading voice said: “Oh, yes please. I just don’t know what to do. I can’t get up the slight slope. This is my third attempt, but I keep getting stuck when I get to this point”

I said: "I will push from here as there is a bit more snow at the side and I might be able to push a bit harder”. I opened her door and then put my hands on the door pillar in front of me and said: "Ok try again, but don’t rev the engine too much, nice and gently”

I made sure that I was looking towards her as she selected first gear and let the handbrake off. She immediately let the clutch straight up and her wheels went into spin mode. If that was her being gentle, I would not have wanted to see her being rough! However, it did mean that she was immediately stuck and the car did not move at all. I did actually try pushing for a few seconds, just to see if it might make a difference, but the car was on too much of a slope and I could not help her. She just sat there letting the wheels spin round and round and did nothing to try and help. After about half a minute I suggested she stop, then I said: "Do you know how to rock a car that is stuck?” She replied, “No, this is the first time I have ever been stuck. I only learnt to dive the year before last, and I did not drive at all in the snow that we had last February. This is only the third time I have been out since this lot arrived, but I had to come up her to deliver an urgent prescription to an old lady. I am now wishing that I hadn’t bothered”

I said: "Would you mind if I explained what to do?” she said: "No please do, anything to get me home”

I then explained how she needed to try and rock the car to gain some momentum and that she had to pump the accelerator pedal up and down to do it, as well as rocking backwards and forwards in her seat whilst pushing or pulling on the steering wheel in time with her foot movement pumping the pedal.

She seemed to understand the reasoning, but was not sure that she could get the timing right. I suggested that she give it a go and that I would help her by telling her when exactly to press the pedal down. I then had a sudden flash of inspiration and asked her to turn on the cars interior light, so that I could see exactly what she was going, and therefore be able to help her get it right. Clever idea! She reached up and luckily the light was just by the interior mirror, and so it spread it's light straight down onto her legs. I could not believe my luck, as she was wearing what appeared to be a really tight pair of black jeans and black leather knee length boots. She had a short winter type jacket on with a warm collar, but this stopped at her waist and so it did not affect the view I had of her legs.

I reminded her to be more gentle as she let up the clutch to start with, and although she was better, it was still a bit too quick and so her wheels started spinning straight away. I then told her to start pumping the accelerator nice and gently, up and down, up and down. She managed that okay and so I then asked her to start rocking her body. I was continually talking to her saying, forwards back, forwards back in time with her foot movements. She quickly got the hang and so then I actually started to push, also in time with her movements. Surprisingly, bearing in mind the slope we were on, the car did start to rock and she did made a tiny amount of progress. It was enough for her to realise that she was moving a fraction with each rock. She said: "I can feel it moving, it's working”

I encouraged her by praising her and then after a while, suggesting that she press the accelerator down a bit more each time and for a fraction longer. She did - well more like rammed it down, then up, then rammed it down again. The engine revs went through the roof and I thought she was about to take off. However, I did not stop her because with the increase in power, she also increased her rocking. It was fantastic. The whole of her upper body rocked backwards and forwards like her life depended upon it. She really went for it! It was as though she realised that the little movements and revs that she did to start with only just got the car moving, and that if she went fully pelt at it, she would be able to get off the slope and up the hill.

I let her carry on for over a minute, and the car was making a small amount of progress, but only a few inches with each effort. At that rate we would have been there for about an hour, as she still had quite a way to go.

She suddenly called out “I can’t keep doing this, my leg is getting cramp, and it’s really hurting. Can I stop?”

I said: "Keep going whilst I have a look”

I stopped pushing and went to the nearside front wheel. It was speeding up and slowing down with each press of the accelerator as it span on the snow. She was cutting a grove in the snow, but only by wearing the snow away as she span. As it was quite tightly compacted, it was taking a while; hence she was only moving a few inches with each effort.

I walked around the front and looked at the offside wheel. It was pretty much the same and so I went to her door and opened it. She started to stop and I told her to keep going, and to turn the steering wheel to the left and to the right as she rocked.

She tried that for four or five turns but it did not make any difference and then she said: "Please let me stop, I am hurting so much”.

I suggested that she rub her thigh whilst we decided what to do. I had been fortunate so far and I did not want to annoy her. She said: "It looks like I am going to have to walk home”. I said: "There is one more thing you could try. I was thinking that if you reversed back and had one last run at the slope, but that when the wheels started to spin, you pumped the accelerator like you have been just then, rather than flooring it like you did when I first saw you. It might make all the difference, as you will already be moving rather than from a standing start like we have just tried. I will be waiting and I could come out behind you and push if you need me to. I think it's worth having a go”

She said: "Okay, I will try but you will not be able to tell me what to do, and my leg is hurting so much. Would you drive it for me and see if you can do it?”

I said: "I had better not, as I won’t be insured and if I skidded or something you would not get your car repaired and I could be fined. It's better if you drive, because you know your car and how it feels on this snow. You have had a bit of practice now!

She said: "Yes, too much. Okay I will try it. I will say goodbye now and thank you, just in case I make it, because I will not want to stop if I do get to the top will I”

I said: "I hope you make it and have a safe journey the rest of the way”

She said: "If I do make it, you will have been my knight in shining armour”

I said: "Hardly, with my walking stick and dog!”

She carefully reversed right back as far as she could and then headed back towards me. I heard her wheels start to spin about the same place that they had the first time, but she was going a fraction faster, so she got slightly further up the slope and was still moving although slowly as she went past me. However, her speed was dropping off and soon she was down to a crawl and her wheels were spinning like mad yet again under the heavy pressure that she was obviously applying to the accelerator. Had she completely forgotten about pumping?

I called out to her “Pump the accelerator” as I moved towards the rear of the car. I doubt if she heard me as the engine was revving so much. However, she then started pumping and as I got to the back of the car, I could see her head and upper body moving forwards and backwards. For some reason, she had left the interior light on! She must have got so used to it when she was rocking before, she forgot to turn it off even though she had reversed with it on, which must have made that more difficult.

The car was by now completely stationary and she was spinning her wheels nicely, but hardly moving at all. Although she had got further up the slope this time, she had still span to a halt and was only moving forwards an inch or two at a time. It was obvious that she was hopelessly stuck and was not going to be able to get out without a tow. I pushed for a little while and then went round to the passenger window. It was still down and so I had one last look as she pumped her right leg up and down and rocked in her seat. She did not realise that I was there as when I spoke to her, it made her jump. I said: "You got a bit further then?”

She replied, “Yes but not all the way. It's no good, I really am stuck here, and I just can’t get going any more. My wheels just keep spinning and spinning and my leg is hurting again already”

I suggested that she stop. She started to tell me that she would park up and walk home when I had one more bright idea. I suggested that she reverse back down to the turning circle and turn around, and then try reversing back up the hill. She looked at me as though I was completely mad! I explained that when going up a hill, all the weight of the car falls to the rear, but that as her car was front-wheel drive, when she tried to drive forwards up the slope the weight was not on her front wheels and therefore then lost traction and span. If she reversed, all the weight of the car and the engine would all be on the rear front wheels, which would now be at the back of the car, and so they would have a far better grip. I also suggested that I sit in the front passenger seat as well, as an extra 18 stone might be a useful addition of weight!

I was amazed that she agreed to give it a try. I asked her if she was okay about me sitting in the car. She replied, “Why not, if you were going to attack me, you would have done it by now. You’ve been trying to help me for about 20 minutes or so it seems”

I got and she reversed back down the hill yet again. I remarked that she was getting good at reversing on this hill. She said: "Yes, I should be, this is the fifth time this evening”

She turned round in the turning bay, without spinning her wheels and then positioned the car facing backward towards the slope. She said: "What do you want me to do now?” I said: " Exactly what you did the last time, but just in reverse. If the wheels do start to spin, pump the accelerator again. Try and get as much speed up as you can on the flat, but not so much that you frighten yourself”

She selected reverse and let the clutch up a bit too quickly. Her wheels span as she started to pull away. She was looking in her two door mirrors as she reversed and still had the interior light on. I was able to have a nice view of her thighs as she worked the clutch when pulling away. Up close, I realised just how tight her jeans were around her thighs, and her boots looked lovely as well as they had a heel of about three inches.

She was busy alternatively looking in the mirrors as she got the car onto the slope, and so she did not notice that although my head was facing forwards, my eyes were definitely looking to my right to study her legs.

She managed to get up a reasonable speed before the start of the slope and so when she started to climb it she got quite a way before her wheels started to spin. Unfortunately I think that only one of them span to start with. This had the effect of making the front of the car slide sideways just a fraction and she obviously felt it through the steering, as she immediately lifted her foot off of the accelerator. I told her to keep going, and so after a few seconds, she pressed it down again, and had obviously been frightened by the slight skid. She said: "Ooh, I don’t like this, I skidding, I can feel it”

I said: "You must keep going, you are doing really well, just keep nice and straight”

By then both of her front wheels had started to spin and although she was still heading in a straight line up the slope, she had lost a lot of her speed by taking her foot off the accelerator, and so she was now hardly moving but still spinning.

I suggested that she quickly start pumping the accelerator like before, which she did. I then reminded her to rock as well and then I made a token effort to do so with her. We must have looked pretty stupid if anyone had looked out of his or her windows. The two of us rocking backwards and forwards in our seats, whilst trying to reverse up a snow covered hill with both our front wheels spinning like mad – all with the interior light still on!

The car soon came to a halt and she carried on pumping. I suggested that she speed up her rocking and foot movements in one last attempt. She tired that but her wheels just span more and more and although we were still moving, it was so slowly it was hardly detectable.

She said: "It was a good idea, but I spoilt it by slowing us down didn’t I? I was scared that I was going to drive into the bushes and it was just an automatic reaction. Can I stop, my wheels are just spinning and I am hardly moving. This leg is hurting again and I am really fed up with this now. God I hate the snow”

I told her to stop and to find somewhere to park that was safe. I expected her to pull forwards and just park parallel to the kerb either on the hill or on the flat area at the bottom.

However, she drove forwards down the hill and then signalled right. There was already a 4x4 parked on our nearside and so I could not understand why she was going to park directly opposite it and make the road really narrow. As we approached it she suddenly started to turn sharply to the right and I realised that she was intending to drive up over the kerb and to park on the grass area, which is next to the flat piece of road. She got up the kerb and straightened out and stopped. She said: "I thought it would be safest to park up here out of the way. I don’t want someone else who is struggling to get up the hill ending up skidding and hitting my car”

I said: "That’s a good idea, I would not have though of that”

I started to get out and then realised that the grass was covered in about four inches of snow. I was amazed that she had been able to get all four wheels up the kerb and then parked without a hint of wheel spin.

We discussed what she was going to do now. She phoned her Dad and arranged to meet him out on the main road. I walked back up the hill with her and untied my dog, who had been sat there patiently watching all of this going on. She made a big fuss of him and then I walked to the main road with her and waited for her Dad. She mentioned that she was a Receptionist for a Chiropractor and being as I suffer in that department, we talked ‘backs’ for the next 10 minutes. Just before her Dad came, I said: “What will you do about fetching you car?”

She replied, “Well I can’t get it tomorrow, as I am off to London on the train for a course. I will have to walk up the following day, during my lunchtime. The weather is supposed to be a lot milder by then, so hopefully most of the snow will have done”

I said: " “Yes you should be alright by then, because the guy that lives in one of the houses on the hill, takes a pride in digging two channels through the snow up the complete slope, so that he can get his car in and out. The other week his wife got stuck right outside their house and now he is out with his shovel after ever new drop of snow”

She said: "I will definitely be okay to drive it by then, because he will have a day and a half to clear it. What a kind chap. Just like you”

With that, her Dad arrived and off she went.

When I got home, my wife asked the dog if he had a nice long walk, because we had been gone so long. It's a good job dogs can’t talk!

Part 2

The following evening, I went the same way on my walk with the dog, to see how much of the snow had thawed. I was surprised that hardly any had. The trees in this road shield the sun from getting on either the road or the grass area. It had been pretty cold again that night and so the snow, even if it had thawed a little during the day, was frozen over again.

The next day, it was pretty much the same, but slightly warmer. I had noticed that the neighbour had done his ‘duty’ and had cleared two tracks on the steepest part of the hill. However, there was still a fair bit of snow covering the grass area.

I realised that I had not found out what time she had her lunch break and so it was going to be difficult to judge when the dog needed an ‘extra’ walk that day!

Luckily there is a hole in the hedge that surrounds the grass area that leads down a steep bank into a massive field. The grass area is about 8 feet above the level of the field. The hedge that divides the two is quite tall, and thick enough in places to hide in.

I had this idea that I would hang around in the field, playing with the dog, until I heard the engine start up when she came to collect her car. If I was quick, and hoping that she would have to stop and defrost her car, I would be able to get into the hedge from the field and watch her, without her seeing me. I had already found a suitable place, which was facing the offside of her car (so that I would be able to see her). It was roughly in line with the rear wheel of her car, so that she would have to look right round over her right shoulder and then down into the bottom of the hedge, to have any chance of seeing me. Even then it would only be just my head popping up, due to me being stood further down the bank towards the field. By far my biggest worry was that she might not spin her wheels at all. I even wondered if it was worth hanging around and getting cold, bearing in mind that she had got up the steep kerb with all four wheels (one at a time) without such as a hint of wheel spin. All she needed to do now was to reverse about four feet, on the frozen snow covered grass and then turn to her left and pull away across about five feet of grass before heading down the kerb and onto the flat road. The hill I knew would not be a problem due to my neighbour’s efforts with his shovel!

The only hope that I had was that when I looked at it closely, the grass area turned out to be on a slight slope (which I had never noticed before). Luckily, it sloped downhill slightly away from the kerb and the road. It was not much, but it just might make all the difference bearing in mind the amount of snow lying on the grass.

I decided that it was worth the effort just in case something happened, and so I went down into the field. I had only been there about 10 minutes when I heard a car engine start nearby. I was further away than I had planned to be, as I had not expected her to return so early. Perhaps her boss had let her leave early if she had told him what she had to go and do?

I managed to get up into the bottom of the hedge and got the dog tied up next to me as I stood in my pre-arranged place in the hedge. I was only there just in time, as I saw her finish off scraping off a bit of ice on the windscreen and walk round to the driver’s door and get in. She did sit for a few moments with the engine running, probably defrosting the windscreen on the inside. She then put her seat belt on and looked over her left shoulder. I saw the reversing light come on and then the car started to move just a fraction. Suddenly the front offside wheel started to spin round slowly and the car did not move. She must have dipped the clutch pretty quickly because it soon stopped. The reversing lights went out but then immediately back on again. I was studying the wheel as she tried again. Immediately it started to spin yet again. This time she allowed it to carry on spinning, obviously hoping that it would start to get some grip. However, it just span slowly round and round. She did not increase the revs but just let it spin for about 10 seconds. I noticed that the tyre was starting to go a bit brown. She was obviously now making some mud under the tyre. I had assumed that the ground would be frozen hard, but it obviously was not!

She stopped and turned her front wheels as far as they would go to the left. She then tried to pull forwards, even though there was not much room between the front of her car and the hedge. The wheel just span again and she could not move forwards either. I think she might have now started to panic a little, as she quickly slammed the car into reverse and let the clutch up more quickly and with more engine revs. The car started to move backwards and almost immediately the offside wheel stopped spinning. However, for a few seconds I heard the nearside wheel still spinning, but then it too stopped as she allowed the car to slowly reverse back on a curve towards the kerb and road.

I assumed that the stuck action would now be at an end, as she only had a few more feet to go before her rear wheels would drop down over the kerb, although the grass was on an upward slope. However, she suddenly slowed right down and almost stopped, as though she was not sure where the kerb was and how steep it was. It was a silly mistake because she then did stop completely, whilst she straighten the steering wheel so that she could go straight back onto the road. Once the wheels were straight, she tried to reverse and her both her front wheels span in the snow and she did not move. Obviously the slight uphill slope was having an effect. I am sure that if she had carried on and given the engine some more revs, she would have overcome the resistance of the slope, and of the rear wheels pushing through the snow and then made it back onto the road. However, she did not try that. Instead she quickly went into first gear and tried to pull away forwards. Her wheels span for a moment and then she was able to move forwards slowly down the slope and across the snow and grass. I assumed that she would just come forwards a few feet and then reverse straight back out onto the road, but using a little more revs. I was wrong!

Instead, she turned the wheels to her left and carried on almost in the direction from which she had come. She then started to turn to her right, which brought her round more towards the corner of the grass area. It seems as though she was just trying to move the back of the car further along the grass area before intending to reverse again straight back onto the road. However, she kept moving forwards, far further than I thought she needed to, especially when you consider that she was driving down the slight slope, and would soon need to try and reverse back up it! Her front nearside wheel was approaching the muddy rut that she had made with her front offside wheel when she had first tried to move. She slowed down just as she approached it and then ‘bingo’, she stopped with the nearside wheel just about in the first rut!

She had obviously not been paying any attention to the state of the grass in front of her as she drove forwards. Whereas I had not been expecting to see anymore spinning of wheels, I was now sure that I would do so again. I was not disappointed. She selected reverse and again let the clutch up with far too much speed. Her offside wheel span and I was certain that her front nearside one was as well, although I could not really see it very clearly.

The car did not move and she again just sat there with her wheel spinning but not trying anything else for what seemed like an age. She eventually stopped and tried to move forwards. This was risky, because although there was a little bit of room, this was where the slight downhill slope started to get steeper. It sloped downwards immediately in front of her, and got steeper as it lead towards the hole in the hedge for the footpath. If she did manage to get any further forwards, there was the risk that she would get onto the steeper downward slope, and then definitely not be able to get back up it, especially as if she went forwards, she would soon come up against the hedge. I need not have worried, because when she tried to pull forward she could not move that way either, even though she was trying to drive down a slight slope! I stood and watched her front offside wheel just spin and spin in the snow. In fact she left it spinning long enough for the wheel to start to make a nice rut and get down into the mud. She then stopped and was looking pretty worried as I saw her turn her head to her left and look and down the street a few times, as though she was looking to see if there was anyone about. No ‘Knight in shining Armour’ this time. He was too busy secretly watching!

She then appeared to take a moment to decide what to do. Suddenly she quickly changed into reverse and accelerated hard. The car span for a moment or two, and then suddenly got enough grip for it to overcome the resistance of the mud in the rut and started to reverse. I expected her to carry on and reverse straight back onto the road, as the back of her car was already facing that way. However, for some reason, as soon as she started to move she turned the steering wheel to her right and so the rear of the car turned and started to come back towards the other corner of the grass area. I have no idea what she thought she would gain by making such a turn because she ended up being faced with a drive forwards across almost the full width of the grass, up a slope to get to the road. To make matters worse, she had gone back so far that there was little room behind her should she need to reverse any further. I was really hoping that she would spin as she pulled away, because if she did, she was likely to get pretty stuck as she had no where to reverse, to help her get out.

Unfortunately when she selected first gear, she must have let up the clutch much more slowly, as she was able to pull away without a hint of wheel spin! I was gutted, as I then again assumed that once she was on the move, she would easily be able to keep going in a straight line and get back onto the road.

For some reason, once she was on the move forwards, she did not accelerate, but just allowed the car to crawl forwards very slowly with very low revs. She had gone just over a cars length and was only a few feet from the kerb when she slowed slightly. I don’t know if she did it because her nearside wheel was almost at the kerb, or whether the grass was a bit boggy and there was more resistance. Maybe it was the slight slope that caused it I am not sure, but whatever the reason, she slowed almost to a stop. Instead of then accelerating to get up the last few feet of the grass snow covered slope, she dipped the clutch and allowed the car to just about stop. She then let it up really quickly, and you guessed it, her wheels span. She only moved about a foot before the car stopped and she again just sat there with her wheels spinning. This time she did accelerate but it was now too late. All she managed to do was spin her wheels at a higher speed. She might have then been better to immediately try reverse again before she dug herself into a rut. However, she obviously did not consider that idea, as she just sat there letting her wheels spin round and round. She kept the speed constant for about ten or fifteen seconds, but then tried increasing the power. The wheels span more quickly and then really started to dig in, what was by now quite a deep rut. Still she did not try to reverse. All I can assume is that she was so close to getting on the road, that her logic told her to keep on trying to move forwards as she only had a couple of feet to go.

I then had the pleasure of watching her start to rock in her seat and heard her start to pump the accelerator. At last, she was remembering something that I had taught her. It was a shame for her that she had only just remembered to try it, but I was not complaining! I was actually worried that it may work, because after a while, she did managed to work up enough momentum to actually get the car to rock backwards and forwards in the rut, whilst she remained in first gear. Gradually the rocking got more and more aggressive and the speed of the engine got more and more as she really went for it. It was a fantastic sight to see her struggling so desperately, when she only had a matter of feet to get to the road. If only I could have heard what she was saying!

After what seemed like an age, she slowed down and stopped. She then sat there fore about 20 seconds and I was wondering what she was going to do next. I thought perhaps she had stopped to phone someone. Suddenly the reversing light came on and she tried ever so slowly to reverse. It was in complete contrast to the attempt to get forwards. The engine was only just making a noise and it was obvious that her clutch movements were very slow and deliberate. Of course her wheels span as soon as she tried to reverse and even after a while when she had started to pump the accelerator and rock in her seat a little, she could not move backwards.

At last, she was really stuck! She gave it one last attempt in reverse when she really accelerated like mad, but it was no use, she was well stuck.

As soon as she stopped trying, her car door opened and she got out. As she started to walk around the door towards the front wheel, I saw that she was wearing the same leather knee length boots as the evening when I had helped her. However, she was now wearing a dress that finished just above her knees along with thick black winter tights. She looked lovely, even better than at our previous meeting.

I so wanted to go over to her and to watch her drive whilst pretending to push on the door pillar. I am sure that I would have had a great view of her legs and boots as she worked the pedals. However, I was also desperate to see what she would do to try and get herself out of the ruts. I quickly decided that if she gave up and phoned someone or if she started to walk off, then I would approach her and again offer to help, If on the other hand, she remained and carried on trying to get herself out, I would have an extended view of a real stuck situation (always my favourite!).

She walked around the front of her car and looked closely at both front wheels, before getting back in. She tried to move forwards yet again and as before her wheels span and she did not move. Suddenly I saw her throw hers hands up in the air. She was obviously now starting to get annoyed or desperate, or both! If only I could have been a fly on the wall in her car at that moment! Whilst I was watching her continually spin her wheels I suddenly saw a lady appear from around the end of the hedge. She walked across the front of the car and went up to the driver’s door. The young lady opened her car door and I heard the woman ask, “Are you stuck?”

Now what sort of a question was that? It was bloody obvious that she was stuck. Her wheels were rim deep in a muddy rut and she had been sat there spinning her wheels at high speed for quite a while. I did not hear what the driver replied, but the woman said: “I will fetch my shovel”.

She disappeared off around the corner of the hedge and a few minutes later she came back with a shovel. The young lady got out and watched as the older woman set to with the shovel trying to remove some of the mud that had built up behind the front offside tyre. After a while, she went off round to the nearside and presumably did the same thing there. She said something to the young lady before opening the rear nearside passenger door. She reached in and picked up something, but I could not see what it was, as my view was blocked by the car. She took whatever it was to the front nearside wheel and then bent down out of my view. I guessed that she had taken the rear floor mat out and was placing it behind the front tyre. She then walked to the rear offside door and collected the mat from that side, also placing it behind the tyre of the offside wheel. She then dug a bit more mud out from in front of the tyre before going round to the nearside wheel to presumably do the same thing. She came back round with the young driver who got into the drivers seat. The older woman leaned in and was talking to her but I could not hear what was said. The older woman then put the shovel down and went and stood right in front of the bonnet of the car. The girl started to try to move forwards but of course her wheels just span. She rocked the car for a few attempts and during one of these, when the car was as far forwards as she could get it, she suddenly stopped, using the foot brake (the braking lights came on). The woman went to each front wheel and pushed the floor mates right up close to the tyres. She then walked back to the front of the car and put her hands on the bonnet, obviously intending to push.

She called out to the young girl, “Go, Go Go” and the driver immediately let the clutch up and revved the nuts off the engine! The wheels span round and round at top speed and the older woman was obviously pushing for all she was worth!

Suddenly the tyres started to get a grip, well the offside one did, and the car started to move backwards. As soon as it moved the young driver turned her steering wheel as far to her left as she could, and in the meantime she kept on accelerating, as though her life depended upon it. I could still hear a wheel spinning as she made the sharp turn back towards the road, so the nearside wheel must have been still loosing traction, but the offside wheel was fine as she went back at some speed and dropped back down over the kerb. The car rocked from side to side as each wheel in turn dropped down the kerb and onto the tarmac road.

The road was still covered in compacted snow and ice and so it was still slippery. I heard her nearside wheel continue to spin for a few seconds even when it was back on the road, as she made a sharp opposite turn to avoid the parked 4x4. She then stopped and pulled forwards and waited whilst the woman picked up the mats and brought them over to her. The driver opened the boot of the estate and placed them in the back. She then got back in and thanked the lady as she did so. She pulled away on the road without spinning and although I could not see her making all of her turn in the turning bay at the end of the road, I did not hear anymore wheel spinning. She then drove off along the flat area, towards the start of the slope up to the main road. I could not get out from the hedge directly onto the grass area, and so I was forced to stand and listen to see if she made it up the hill. She did, and so that ended my sneaky viewing of a young lady getting herself really stuck.

I went back down into the field and after a while I casually wandered back up onto the grass area. There was some nice wheel spinning marks, which I photographed the following day. They give some idea of what I have been trying to explain! I did think about trying to take a photo of her if she span her wheels on the grass, but I decided it was too risky, and in any case, I did not really expect to see any wheel spin at all, never mind a full blown stuck situation, and so I left the camera at home!