Three off-road driving enthusiasts helped dig out people stranded in snow in temperatures of -4 degrees - with two of them just having had their Covid vaccines.

Photographer Alex Sartain from Deal had only just received a jab in Dover Health centre with friend Richard Manion who came across a post on a green lane driving site calling for help pulling a family out of deep snow in Folkestone.

Mr Sartain had a chain pull in his Landrover Discovery to pull cars to safety and knowing they were equipped to help, they linked up with another friend called James and made their way in separate vehicles to Crete Road East in Folkestone to offer socially distanced assistance.

When the trio met up, accompanied by Mr Sartain's German shepherd called Hunter, they saw the hill had been closed in both directions by Kent Highways but despite this it had about 10 vehicles stranded on it.

Mr Sartain said: "All the roads in Capel were fine. When we got there we saw conditions had started to get quite bad so we thought we'd park up and walk down Crete Road East to test it out before driving it.

"The wind must've changed direction and created a snow drift and the snow was very deep.

"It was over 10ft tall in places, that's why we parked up, last thing we wanted to do was get ourselves stuck when we had gone there to rescue people."

When they first arrived they helped a man in a VW Passatt, by nudging him backwards and then he reversed back down the road.

They then found the family they had gone to help. After 20 minutes workers arrived with a snow plough which they had to park up the road. The workers managed to free the family by digging them out by hand.

While that rescue was underway, the trio walked down the whole of the road to see if any other cars were in perilous situations, with two highways workers who had arrived to grit the road.

He said: "I had to have my hands in my pockets because it was like a blizzard up there.

"I couldn't see two metres in front of us. Even off road-ready cars were completely buried."

Rescuers warn people not to attempt to travel unless absolutely necessary

They saw a man in a Landrover and checked on him before continuing down the road to check if any vehicles needed more immediate help than him.

When they returned less than an hour later his car had gone from having a foot of snow on top of it (pictured) to being almost completely buried up to the top of the window.

The three friends and highways men set about getting him free.

He added: "The doors were blocked by deep snow and not able to open them. We got the snow off with shovels and managed to open the door.

"The man had been keeping warm with a diesel heater in the back of the car. He said he didn't have a clue how bad it had got outside.

"By the time we got him out my eyelashes were frozen."

Once they arrived back at the vehicles Mr Sartain had to wait for his frozen coat to thaw out so he could unzip it. "My collar was like a block of ice."

He said: "We are members of the Green Lane Association and there is an unwritten code that if one person is stuck and you have a vehicle capable of helping, you just go and help.

"I felt quite crappy after the jab but my mate said about going over there and I had a vehicle that was capable."

Mr Sartain, through Kentonline, is warning motorists to make sure they prepare for the worst if they go out in the snow.

He said the man they rescued was dressed in jeans and a jumper.

He had no food, water or blanket and, if his heat source ran out during the period he was trapped, he could have become endangered by the effects of the cold.

"It's important to take provisions, a duvet in the back of the car could save your life," he said.

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