A DECADE after severe flooding devastated Gloucestershire including the Stroud District, the SNJ take a look back at one man’s heroism.

BRAVE neighbourhood warden Ashley Nicholson stared death in the face as he was swept away by strong river currents while rescuing calves from floodwater at a farm near Ebley.

Having carried several of the helpless animals to safety from the metre of gushing water on the River Frome floodplain, the 26-year-old suddenly found himself clinging to a tree for his life, having been dragged 50 yards downstream.

“I lost my footing but it came as a real shock when I disappeared under the water,” said Ashley following the incident.

“The current was so strong, when I came up I tried to swim but it was pointless. Then I managed to grab hold of a branch.

“If the tree hadn’t been there I would have been swept away.”

Exhausted and extremely cold Ashley eventually scrambled out of the water into the branches of a tree.

The RAF Sea King rescue helicopter arrived to save stranded Ashley.

“It was only when I was sat in the tree that I thought how lucky I was,” said Ashley, who managed to help shepherd around 50 cows to safety.