A tight squeeze

A very grateful customer has expressed her thanks to Reading postman, Stuart Whittle, after he put all thoughts of his own safety to one side to save her from being crushed by her own car.

Stuart was walking into Queensborough Drive to deliver the mail when he saw Lucinda Ellis pull up and park.

‘It had been snowing the night before so there was some ice on the pavement,’ said Mrs Ellis. ‘As I walked to my front door I heard a loud bang. Turning around I saw that my Mini had rolled into my garage door. So, I quickly got back in, reversed up the drive and pulled the handbrake on really hard, thinking that I can’t have done so before.

‘I went to check my garage door for damage when suddenly, the car slid towards me and pinned me against the garage door. I tried to keep it back by pushing with my legs, but the car kept pressing against me. I could even feel the garage door behind me being pushed inwards.

‘I saw Stuart and shouted! He immediately ran over and asked what he could do. He tried to move the car but it was too heavy.’

‘Mrs Ellis was telling me that her legs were hurting her from the weight of the car,’ said Stuart. ‘My first reaction was to try and push the car off, but it wasn't budging. The drive was on a ramp and my shoes couldn’t grip on the ice. I could hear Mrs Ellis getting more distressed and I was trying to think quickly.

‘In the end, I managed to wedge myself between the car and the garage door next to Mrs Ellis. I put all my weight against the garage door and pushed the car up the ramp with my hands and knees. As the car moved it released Mrs Ellis, leaving her able to jump in the driver’s seat and reverse it off the drive.’

Mrs Ellis said: ‘I don’t know what I’d have done if it hadn’t been for Stuart. I’m so grateful. My mother, amusingly, looked out of the window at one point as she was expecting me and thought I had borrowed someone’s Royal Mail jacket! She is in her 70’s and as such, was spared all the worry!’