These two men had a lucky escape on Saturday afternoon, getting away with nothing worse than a soaking and a ruined car when their Range Rover made it about two-thirds of the way across from Packet Boat Lane in Cowley to Ford Lane on the Buckinghamshire side – then stopped.
An eyewitness who took these pictures of the 'epic fail', and then called the Gazette, said: "[The water] came halfway up his door and over the headlights.
"They sat there for about 20 minutes then the police turned up and a fire engine."
After a chat with officers, who made sure the occupants of the Range Rover were all right, the men were left to their own devices, said the photographer, who asked not to be named.
"I'm local and I have never seen the river so high," he said.
The River Colne has burst its banks in several spots in recent weeks, and although levels have dropped slightly in the last few days, it is still very full and running swiftly.
The car would have taken the full weight of the current on its broadside, and at that location the river bottom is deep gravel.
Both men eventually waded to shore.
"They were up to their belly buttons when they got out, and they were big blokes," said the photographer.
Ford Lane appears on several websites aimed at off-road vehicle enthusiasts. Wetroads.co.uk calls it 'an awesome ford, only for the bravest 4x4!'
