A RETIRED couple from Kidlington have described how they had four narrow escapes from the destruction wreaked by floods in Queensland, Australia.

Eric and Maureen Cooper had been on a three-month tour of the state when they were caught up in flooding that swamped 30,000 homes and killed at least 16 people.

The grandparents-of-two, who have visited Australia six times, were forced to drive through torrential rain on crumbling roads and narrowly missed flash floods that swept away cars and homes.

The holidaymakers also dodged a cyclone that hit Townsville in December as forecasters began to warn of the storms ahead.

Mrs Cooper said: “We had been there two months and we had lovely weather. It has been really enjoyable until then.

“We were in Rockhampton coming towards the end of our holiday, and they told us we had to get out on January 2 or the roads would be closed because of the rain.

“We had to leave because otherwise we could have got stuck there for a week, and our flight was booked for January 11.

“We got up early at 5am and drove out of Yeppoon, but did not know if we would get out of Rockhampton or not because there were all these diversions on the road.”

She added: “The water was right up to the sides of the bridge and lapping over the side. There were floods everywhere.

“It looked dreadful, although the rain was so heavy we had a job to see anything.

“I know we have potholes here but all the roads were so broken up, it was like a jigsaw.

“You had to decide where to drive to get through.”

Eight days later, the couple, who have lived in Kidlington for 30 years, had to set off early again from Toowoomba to catch their Brisbane flight before the floods hit.

When they arrived at their hotel and turned on the television, they realised they had missed the flash floods that swept through Toowoomba by hours.

Mr Cooper, who worked in the service division at Cowley car plant, said: “The cars were being washed along until they disappeared under the water where we had been earlier in the day.

“They were saying that the water was coming towards Brisbane, and we were flying the next day and had to drop the rental car back.

“We were very lucky. It seemed we kept on just missing it by hours, in Townsville, Rockhampton, Toowoomba and then Brisbane.

“We felt lucky to be able to go home, and very sorry for the people there.

“To us, it was an adventure in some ways, but we do feel for people who have lost their homes and especially those who have lost family.

“It is difficult to believe we were in the places just a few days before they have appeared on the television.”