AN ELDERLY couple, rescued by two men from the swollen waters of a ford near St Clears have been reunited with the local heroes who saved them.

The couple were trying to cross Glasfryn Ford, north of St Clears just after noon on February 8, when their car was swept 100m downstream by the high and fast flowing waters.

Two passersby, Jonathan Law and Darren Priddle jumped into the river, the Dewi Fawr after they saw the car being swept away.

The car became wedged against another vehicle in the river which was submerged under the water after being swept away on a previous occasion, and this aided the rescue.

Mr Law was the first at the scene and saw the car trying to reverse out of the ford.

"There's quite a big tree that's fallen and cars get washed down there quite a lot... the car from October or December time which they went on top of kind of gave them that extra lift in the water," Mr Law told the BBC.

He went into Mr Priddle’s dog training centre, Waunbricks Boarding Kennels, near the ford and the two men then set about rescuing the elderly couple with a hammer and dog training line.

"We both went straight in the river without thinking. We used the tree that was luckily enough there to help us gain a little bit of momentum,” Mr Priddle said.

"It was very difficult, it was a struggle and I was concerned for both me and Jonny but you don't think, you just do.

"At that moment I wasn't thinking about anything but getting them out of the water."

The two men smashed the windows of the car and brought the couple inside out on to the bank.

They said it was quite common to see cars being swept away in the ford and it had happened numerous times.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue and the ambulance service were on the scene to help, and the elderly couple was taken to Glangwili Hospital.

A spokesperson for Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue said a crew was at Glasfryn Ford until 1.28pm, but added most of the rescue work had been carried out by Mr Priddle and Mr Law.

Posting on Facebook on Tuesday, February 19, Darren said: “We met up with Don and Shirley, the couple we rescued from our local river when the car they were in was swept away, putting both of their lives at serious risk.

“What a lovely couple they were, we could not wait to see them in better circumstances and apart from a few cuts and bruises they were doing fine.

“We won’t forget them or the event in a hurry.

“It was an emotional day to say the least but what a lovely couple they are, so happy we managed to get them out safe and alive.”