A family have spoken of their anxiety after an Ashford taxi driver disappeared for hours... as he lay trapped in his car after crashing into a water-filled ditch.

Mark Beckford escaped drowning thanks to an air pocket inside the vehicle.

The 45-year-old, who is now in hospital with serious injuries, was driving home from Ashford to New Romney along the A2070 at around 2am yesterday when his red MG ZR came off the road.

The car ended up in a ditch upside down and was almost completely submerged in four feet of water.

However, fire crews from both Ashford and New Romney weren’t called to the scene until 3.35pm yesterday afternoon after a lorry driver spotted the back wheels of the car upside down in the verge and called 999.

Police, ambulance and the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Air Ambulance were all called to the scene.

Working in extremely difficult conditions, the crew used hydraulic cutting equipment to release the hatchback’s door to check for anyone inside.

"I would like to praise the lorry driver for spotting the car and calling 999. If he hadn’t stopped for a look then the man would have been in there even longer and it might have been a different outcome" - Rob Sherwood

Inside they found independent taxi driver Mark Beckford from New Romney, who normally works from outside Ashford International Station, trapped with just an air pocket at the back of the car to keep him from drowning.

Crews carefully part-winched the car up the bank until it was far enough out of the water to safely remove him through the back door.

Mr Beckford, 45, who had been reported missing by his wife Lesley, 60, earlier that day - was treated at the scene by paramedics and a doctor and was taken to the William Harvey Hospital by land ambulance, assisted by the crews from the air ambulance.

Now his family have spoken of their anxiety in the hours after he went missing.

They spent the time phoning contacts and officials, such as in hospitals, and waiting for news from the police.

His wife Lesley Beckford, 60, of New Romney, said: “We were in a panic. We were ringing everyone. Nobody knew where he was.”

Mrs Beckford had woken up at the couple’s home at 6.30am on Tuesday Aug 13 to find he had not returned home, as she had expected.

She still had to go to work, as a visiting carer in Hythe and Ashford and repeatedly rang him during her shift.

When she returned home at 12.30pm she reported him missing to police.

She said: “I rang him up to five times from work and all I got was the voicemail service. When I got home he was still not there and then I reported him missing.”

Mrs Beckford’s daughters Melanie Wellman, and Nichola O’Shea, were among the family members who rang around to try to trace him.

Miss Wellman said: “Mark was never able to call for help because his phone was lost in the ditch during the accident. It was never even found when they rescued him."

Rob Sherwood of Kent Fire and Rescue Service praised emergency crews for their hard work.

He said: “This was a very unusual rescue and they all did a good job in difficult circumstances.

"I would like to praise the lorry driver for spotting the car and calling 999. If he hadn’t stopped for a look then the man would have been in there even longer and it might have been a different outcome.

“Our firefighters managed to get into the car and provided an initial medical response until the ambulance teams quickly took over. All the emergency services at the scene worked as a team to achieve this rescue.”

The A2070 between Hamstreet and Brenzett was closed in both directions while police recovered the vehicle.

• Kent Police are now appealing for witnesses to the crash, on the A2070 road between Brenzett and Hamstreet, about 500 metres before Johnsons Corner, at about 2am on Tuesday, August 13 to contactthe Kent Police Serious Collision Investigation Unit on 01622 798538.