TL:DR – Amazon driver leaves van after navigating ‘UK’s most treacherous route’ to Foulness Island
- An Amazon van became stranded on The Broomway, a dangerous 600-year-old walking path in the Thames Estuary.
- The driver, using GPS, attempted to access Foulness Island and was trapped by rising tides.
- HM Coastguard warned that the route should only be traversed with an expert guide.
- The Broomway is hazardous due to mud and poor visibility, historically marked by broom branches.
- The driver alerted Amazon; a local farmer helped recover the van after the occupants were safe.
Amazon driver abandons van after taking ‘UK’s deadliest path’ to Foulness Island
An Amazon van is stranded in the Thames Estuary in Foulness, Essex.
(Picture: Jacqueline Lawrie/LNP)
An Amazon driver was left stranded after driving through ‘one of the UK’s deadliest roads’.
They were following their GPS trying to get to Foulness Island in Essex but were led to a treacherous 600-year-old walking path known as The Broomway in the dark on Saturday night.
The six-mile-long route can quickly become flooded as tides change and snakes through an Army firing range.
A HM Coastguard Southend spokesman said the route should only be walked on with a guide who knows the mud flats.
‘It is an extremely dangerous area and is on MOD property only free to access when the firing ranges are not active and barrier is open,’ they said.
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Amazon said it was ‘aware’ of the situation and was ‘investigating’.
The Amazon van was rescued after being stranded in the Thames Estuary
(Picture: Jacqueline Lawrie/LNP)
Why is the Broomway so dangerous?
It’s only safely passable at very low tide
Walkers must time their crossing precisely with tide tables. If you miscalculate, the sea can cut off escape routes quickly and silently.
The path is barely visible
Historically, it was marked by broom branches stuck in the mud (which is where it gets its name). Today, navigation relies on distant marker posts that can be hard to see in mist or poor weather.
The mud is extremely hazardous
Parts of the route cross deep, sticky mud that can trap people. There have been multiple rescues and fatalities over the years.
Access is restricted.
The Broomway leads to Foulness Island, which is largely controlled by the UK Ministry of Defence as a weapons testing area. Public access is limited and regulated.
A farmer helped lift the van back to safety
(Picture: Jacqueline Lawrie/LNP)
The coastguard said it had spoken to a Qinetiq security officer who said the incident had taken place on Saturday evening and that the driver had ‘removed themselves from the van and reported the incident to Amazon’.
A local farmer helped to remove the vehicle on Sunday.
Coastguard officers were stood down from the incident after the occupants of the van were confirmed to be safe and the vehicle was due to be removed.