A CYCLIST was rescued after getting stuck up to his neck in floodwater in Newton Abbot yesterday afternoon.

The rider, in his 50s and from the Knowles Hill Road area, clung to a tree for dear life to save himself being swept away by the River Teign torrent near Jetty Marsh Road.

Two other cyclists came across the stranded casualty just after 3pm.

They alerted firefighters who were quickly on scene to throw a line to the cyclist and pull him, and his bike, out of the water.

He was checked over at the scene without any need for a trip to hospital. A fire spokesman said: ‘He was very lucky. It could have been very different if help had not arrived when it did.’

It’s estimated the cyclist had been in the water 40 minutes.

The fire spokesman urged everyone to take extreme care when confronted by floodwater.

‘It’s not worth the risk of trying to walk, cycle or drive through floods,’ he said.