A couple made two dramatic flood rescues in the space of a few hours in northern NSW as motorists continue to ignore flood warnings.
Newly-elected Lismore councillor Jeri Hall and her husband Aaron came to the rescue of two people who tried to cross Coopers Creek on Thursday afternoon.
Aaron, a former Westpac Rescue Helicopter crewman, was forced to coax a man off the roof of his floating car that had become wedged against trees and a fence.
The man's car was submerged up to the roof and the elderly man, Mrs Hall said, was standing on top of it.
Her husband had to convince the man to leave the car roof and enter the water to get to safety.
"He was disorientated and quite devastated. He kept saying, 'I didn't think it would be that deep'," Mrs Hall said.
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She said they told the man to "just leave it there" when he was keen to retrieve his car.
As emergency services were cut off by flood water, Mrs Hall watched on anxiously as her husband dived under the water to attach straps to the floating car. She then helped to drag out the car with her 4WD.
The rescued driver was in shock and disorientated.
"He couldn't tell me his full name, or where he lived," she said. "He was definitely in shock and would not leave the vehicle."
"He said, 'I'm just going to stay with my car'," Mrs Hall said. "But the car was drenched, he was drenched."
She said while she knew her husband was trained and "knew what he was doing", it was still a terrifying experience.
When they opened the car door door after it was towed to safety, "half the river poured out".
Earlier the same afternoon the Halls, who have a bus run, were taking students home early when they were called into action.
A woman who had been been advised not to try to cross the creek, did so anyway. Water was up to the windowsill by the time the Halls retrieved her.
"You see it every flood. They put their own and other people's lives at risk. Silly mistakes that people make that could effect the lives of so many.
"The moral is, don't drive through flood water, it's just not worth it. Just turn around"
She was full of praise for her "very heroic" husband: "He made such a difference to many people's lives."
