Bentley sinks at Sandbanks: Owner recounts ‘lucky’ escape

A man who was plucked from the sunroof of his sinking Bentley by passers-by has described how “it went down and under the water like a submarine”.

Robert Hill, 72, recounted the moment when his car plunged from the Ferry Way Car Park at Sandbanks, in Poole, Dorset, shortly before 17:15 BST on Tuesday.

A number of local anglers and nearby pedestrians jumped into the harbour to help pull Mr Hill from the car shortly before it sank.

He was taken to hospital and said he was convinced he was going to have “an end the same as Titanic”.

Mr Hill, who had the car valeted the day before at the cost of £100, was out for an early evening drive when he parked his car opposite the Haven Hotel.

He said he was taken by surprise when it lurched forward over the curb and into a bench, thinking: “Well this is going to be an expensive bill.”

Mr Hill said moments later the car made a loud bang and continued over the edge into the water.

The bronze Bentley Flying Spur, registered in 2013, would have cost more than £150,000 brand new and had just recently passed it’s MOT, according to the DVLA.

Mr Hill told the BBC the car went under the water and floated back up to the top.

He said he unsuccessfully tried to to open the electric windows, before remembering he had left the sunroof open.

“I was just pushing myself up and I saw three figures in the water, all coming towards me, all trying to get to me,” he said.

Mr Hill said the rescue party pulled him out of the sunroof, and he felt: “Very, very lucky… and very sad at the same time.”

A Poole Harbour Commissioners spokesperson said: “We would like to take this opportunity to commend the swift and selfless efforts of those individuals who assisted the gentleman from his car.”

The port authority said it used a hydrographic survey vessel to find the car on the seabed before divers and a crane were used to pull it back up to the surface.

It is not the first time a car has gone into the water near the ferry at the beauty spot.

In 2014, a woman was rescued from a passing boat after accidentally driving her car into the water.