What's the scariest situation you have ever been in?
Discussion
Mine was climbing trees as a kid and falling inside a hollow one , getting wedged with the horrible feeling of claustrophobia , then managing to wriggle my way to the top and crawl out
it was on an abandoned old hospital site .
Another was with my brother aged around 7 in dads microplus cabin cruiser getting stuck on the mud flats at the entrance to poole harbour , Dad was going to jump overboard to push the boat into the main channel , fortunately he decided to use a boat hook to see how deep the mud was ..........it went all the way to his elbow , i still get shudders thinking of what could have happened to Dad
it was on an abandoned old hospital site .
Another was with my brother aged around 7 in dads microplus cabin cruiser getting stuck on the mud flats at the entrance to poole harbour , Dad was going to jump overboard to push the boat into the main channel , fortunately he decided to use a boat hook to see how deep the mud was ..........it went all the way to his elbow , i still get shudders thinking of what could have happened to Dad
Fire on the London Underground.
Mid 90s so memories of the King's Cross fire very present.
The train kept stopping in the tunnel, and thick black smoke was coming underneath the doors. That horrible acrid smell of electrical burning. My heart was pumping so hard I thought it was going to burst.
Eventually the train got to Waterloo, the platforms were dark and full of smoke.
I screamed at my colleague to "Run!" and we did, through all the back exits which we knew having travelled that route for many months. Tourists were all milling around, utterly confused.
Emerge to ground level and the station is closed with fire brigades everywhere. Thankfully a 'small' track-side fire and contained.
f
king scary though.
Mid 90s so memories of the King's Cross fire very present.
The train kept stopping in the tunnel, and thick black smoke was coming underneath the doors. That horrible acrid smell of electrical burning. My heart was pumping so hard I thought it was going to burst.
Eventually the train got to Waterloo, the platforms were dark and full of smoke.
I screamed at my colleague to "Run!" and we did, through all the back exits which we knew having travelled that route for many months. Tourists were all milling around, utterly confused.
Emerge to ground level and the station is closed with fire brigades everywhere. Thankfully a 'small' track-side fire and contained.
f
king scary though.Driving across the causeway to Noirmoutier in France on an incoming tide.
We misread the sign and started across,the car had us and our 2 children in. Mrs S was driving and when the water started to cover the road we realised our fk up.
Mrs S goes into panic mode,stops the car and we change over,I have to reverse about 1km with only the marker posts for guidance.
Our moto now is “if in doubt,don’t do it”
We misread the sign and started across,the car had us and our 2 children in. Mrs S was driving and when the water started to cover the road we realised our f
k up.Mrs S goes into panic mode,stops the car and we change over,I have to reverse about 1km with only the marker posts for guidance.
Our moto now is “if in doubt,don’t do it”
Scariest I suppose and tragic.
Driving down an A road in Sussex just after the clocks changed, then I see a bright light on the opposite side of a double whited road section, it almost stunned me that anyone would be on the road that time of night on a push bike.
All of a sudden I see in my rear side mirror one almighty spark type light...then a car going past me rather quickly on the opposite side (double whites remember).
Then my brains put 2+2 together and realise he's hit her....Next bit...I have said car spinning out in front of me (never know why to this day).....I'm now having to brake FAST.
My brain is in complete haywire when im telling myself to do stuff (not sure what this condition is)....So I eventually stop a bit past this car and phone 999. That went Pete tong as I had hands free on and couldn't even work out I was talking to a speaking I was so shell shocked.
I open my door and all I hear is horrific music coming out the car, screaming from someone and then im thinking st I could get hijacked here...so close door......
Local bobby turns up on routine patrol with cars mounting up slowly probably telling him about the car that I've seen doing the same, I wish I could find this PC as he probably saw the incident with a completely different perspective to me, I had to effectively shout to him "I'VE SEEN ALL OF THIS"
The rest was scary....SOCO interrogating me for a statement on the scene. I'm there for what feels like 2/3 hours and still had 1.5 hours drive left home!
With a fatality and bloke on the run this was a serious incident and the next day im called in to give a statement so I could help as much as I could. But in reality they were treating me as a suspect when I didn't even know it.
Sadly the victim died immediately and I've never been back to this day to that road yet. The scum who did it pleaded guilty and got I think 7 years (not just for CDBD).
RIP
Driving down an A road in Sussex just after the clocks changed, then I see a bright light on the opposite side of a double whited road section, it almost stunned me that anyone would be on the road that time of night on a push bike.
All of a sudden I see in my rear side mirror one almighty spark type light...then a car going past me rather quickly on the opposite side (double whites remember).
Then my brains put 2+2 together and realise he's hit her....Next bit...I have said car spinning out in front of me (never know why to this day).....I'm now having to brake FAST.
My brain is in complete haywire when im telling myself to do stuff (not sure what this condition is)....So I eventually stop a bit past this car and phone 999. That went Pete tong as I had hands free on and couldn't even work out I was talking to a speaking I was so shell shocked.
I open my door and all I hear is horrific music coming out the car, screaming from someone and then im thinking s
t I could get hijacked here...so close door......Local bobby turns up on routine patrol with cars mounting up slowly probably telling him about the car that I've seen doing the same, I wish I could find this PC as he probably saw the incident with a completely different perspective to me, I had to effectively shout to him "I'VE SEEN ALL OF THIS"
The rest was scary....SOCO interrogating me for a statement on the scene. I'm there for what feels like 2/3 hours and still had 1.5 hours drive left home!
With a fatality and bloke on the run this was a serious incident and the next day im called in to give a statement so I could help as much as I could. But in reality they were treating me as a suspect when I didn't even know it.
Sadly the victim died immediately and I've never been back to this day to that road yet. The scum who did it pleaded guilty and got I think 7 years (not just for CDBD).
RIP
Probably quite tame compared to others...
Went to visit my mum one night and as I drive into her sleepy village, a van was sat at a junction waiting to join the road I was on but would be headed towards me. But, as I passed he then followed me out at close quarters.
I pulled over, but wisely not outside my Mum's and then van slowly came past, two characters properly looking at me. I sat in the car as said van then turned up the street and came back down, again slowing to look as it passed. It then turned further back down the road so by this time, I was starting to get a bit shaky so I drove off.
Said van then sped up to catch me and sat right on my bumper through some of the back roads and towards the main road. At that point I figured it was fight or flight and I wasn't for a fight so tried to put distance between us but go held up by a car coming into a roundabout.
Van came up the outside and tried to force me into the verge with the passenger screaming at me. Managed to hit the brakes then go out round him and again make a gap but couple of cars slowed me and at the next roundabout the van came through behind me on a red and again came alongside on the offside so I carried on round as if to pass the exit for the dual carriageway but at the last minute yanked it left as he then carried on.
Thankfully had a clear section so just floored it and in my mirror saw the lights of the van way back coming the same way but byy that stage I was going quite fast and had enough of a gap opening and by the time I got to the next exit headed off into the next town, aiming for the police station but reality was a mile if so later my legs were like jelly so I basically hid.
Got out and was sweating and shaking. I remember trying to call my mum as she'd be wondering why I'd driven away but couldn't actually work my phone for a good few minutes. After a bit headed for home but had a bit of a moment to myself thinking what might have happened, more so if I'd had my then 6mth old in the car. Car wasn't even that desirable. Strange and unsettling and scary in equal measures.
Sadly it kinda hammered home the point that I'd be a paranoid wreck if I or worse, wife and kids were in anything that somebody would potentially aggressive take...
Went to visit my mum one night and as I drive into her sleepy village, a van was sat at a junction waiting to join the road I was on but would be headed towards me. But, as I passed he then followed me out at close quarters.
I pulled over, but wisely not outside my Mum's and then van slowly came past, two characters properly looking at me. I sat in the car as said van then turned up the street and came back down, again slowing to look as it passed. It then turned further back down the road so by this time, I was starting to get a bit shaky so I drove off.
Said van then sped up to catch me and sat right on my bumper through some of the back roads and towards the main road. At that point I figured it was fight or flight and I wasn't for a fight so tried to put distance between us but go held up by a car coming into a roundabout.
Van came up the outside and tried to force me into the verge with the passenger screaming at me. Managed to hit the brakes then go out round him and again make a gap but couple of cars slowed me and at the next roundabout the van came through behind me on a red and again came alongside on the offside so I carried on round as if to pass the exit for the dual carriageway but at the last minute yanked it left as he then carried on.
Thankfully had a clear section so just floored it and in my mirror saw the lights of the van way back coming the same way but byy that stage I was going quite fast and had enough of a gap opening and by the time I got to the next exit headed off into the next town, aiming for the police station but reality was a mile if so later my legs were like jelly so I basically hid.
Got out and was sweating and shaking. I remember trying to call my mum as she'd be wondering why I'd driven away but couldn't actually work my phone for a good few minutes. After a bit headed for home but had a bit of a moment to myself thinking what might have happened, more so if I'd had my then 6mth old in the car. Car wasn't even that desirable. Strange and unsettling and scary in equal measures.
Sadly it kinda hammered home the point that I'd be a paranoid wreck if I or worse, wife and kids were in anything that somebody would potentially aggressive take...
March 10th 2000,
I was on my way back from Australia via Sri Lanka and the plane developed a fault meaning that I was in colombo for 4 days...
First day - we had been told that colombo wasn't safe and that we needed an armed guard.... I was 18 and had only ever been to the med previously and didn't believe it..
Incedibly hungover travelling In a tuk tuk.... down a city street...
Long story short - tamil tiger suicide bombers (4) and heavy and sustained machine gun fire with bullets whizzing everywhere, I was curled up on the back step of the tuk tuk..... I literally shat myself and I have no shame in admitting it...
You see it on TV and In films but it was genuine crippling terror that I will never forget.
I have no desire to hear the surprisingly mechanical noise that an AK47 makes ever again, and some things can never be unseen.
I was on my way back from Australia via Sri Lanka and the plane developed a fault meaning that I was in colombo for 4 days...
First day - we had been told that colombo wasn't safe and that we needed an armed guard.... I was 18 and had only ever been to the med previously and didn't believe it..
Incedibly hungover travelling In a tuk tuk.... down a city street...
Long story short - tamil tiger suicide bombers (4) and heavy and sustained machine gun fire with bullets whizzing everywhere, I was curled up on the back step of the tuk tuk..... I literally shat myself and I have no shame in admitting it...
You see it on TV and In films but it was genuine crippling terror that I will never forget.
I have no desire to hear the surprisingly mechanical noise that an AK47 makes ever again, and some things can never be unseen.
A few in my 60 years but that one about the van reminded me of similar.
I had my two young boys in the car as I headed down dark country roads to my place late one night.
I passed a road with a astra van waiting to join the road. As soon as I passed it sped out and sat inches from my bumper with the two maniacs inside screaming at me through open windows.
They kept trying to ram me then tried to overtake and swerve into me.
Luckily I was in my old e36 so had power and handling but the roads were rough, narrow and very tight bends.
This carried on for a mile or so until I got to the roundabout and the main road.
Meanwhile I'm just trying to calm the boys saying it's just a bit of fun.
Once on the main road, I floored it with just a mile to my cottage to go. I got some distance but as I had to turn off onto another B road I thought that stopping at my place would now be a bad idea as they'd see where I lived.
So I carried on. The boys wanted to know why I had passed my house so I just said that I thought they'd like a little bit of a drive in the countryside.
Thanks to the van occupants being utter loons and probably knowing the roads better than I, they caught up and once again tried to get side by side. I kept swerving whilst trying to think if the police station would be open in the nearest town.
I headed back towards the main road and hit another roundabout. I went round it twice with them behind then headed for the town.
Thankfully, at that point they gave up, or had had their fun and they went off in another direction.
In all it probably was only 15 minutes but was terrifying.
Hope those tts got some karma from someone bigger than me, or lost control of their van and hit a tree somewhere.
I had my two young boys in the car as I headed down dark country roads to my place late one night.
I passed a road with a astra van waiting to join the road. As soon as I passed it sped out and sat inches from my bumper with the two maniacs inside screaming at me through open windows.
They kept trying to ram me then tried to overtake and swerve into me.
Luckily I was in my old e36 so had power and handling but the roads were rough, narrow and very tight bends.
This carried on for a mile or so until I got to the roundabout and the main road.
Meanwhile I'm just trying to calm the boys saying it's just a bit of fun.
Once on the main road, I floored it with just a mile to my cottage to go. I got some distance but as I had to turn off onto another B road I thought that stopping at my place would now be a bad idea as they'd see where I lived.
So I carried on. The boys wanted to know why I had passed my house so I just said that I thought they'd like a little bit of a drive in the countryside.
Thanks to the van occupants being utter loons and probably knowing the roads better than I, they caught up and once again tried to get side by side. I kept swerving whilst trying to think if the police station would be open in the nearest town.
I headed back towards the main road and hit another roundabout. I went round it twice with them behind then headed for the town.
Thankfully, at that point they gave up, or had had their fun and they went off in another direction.
In all it probably was only 15 minutes but was terrifying.
Hope those t
ts got some karma from someone bigger than me, or lost control of their van and hit a tree somewhere.smifffymoto said:
Driving across the causeway to Noirmoutier in France on an incoming tide.
We misread the sign and started across,the car had us and our 2 children in. Mrs S was driving and when the water started to cover the road we realised our fk up.
Mrs S goes into panic mode,stops the car and we change over,I have to reverse about 1km with only the marker posts for guidance.
Our moto now is “if in doubt,don’t do it”
I wondered now often that happened, I've always used the bridge even if it means going out of my way. Usefull refuge ladders though!We misread the sign and started across,the car had us and our 2 children in. Mrs S was driving and when the water started to cover the road we realised our f
k up.Mrs S goes into panic mode,stops the car and we change over,I have to reverse about 1km with only the marker posts for guidance.
Our moto now is “if in doubt,don’t do it”
Mobile Chicane said:
Fire on the London Underground.
Mid 90s so memories of the King's Cross fire very present.
The train kept stopping in the tunnel, and thick black smoke was coming underneath the doors. That horrible acrid smell of electrical burning. My heart was pumping so hard I thought it was going to burst.
Eventually the train got to Waterloo, the platforms were dark and full of smoke.
I screamed at my colleague to "Run!" and we did, through all the back exits which we knew having travelled that route for many months. Tourists were all milling around, utterly confused.
Emerge to ground level and the station is closed with fire brigades everywhere. Thankfully a 'small' track-side fire and contained.
fking scary though.
Same for me but without the fire.Mid 90s so memories of the King's Cross fire very present.
The train kept stopping in the tunnel, and thick black smoke was coming underneath the doors. That horrible acrid smell of electrical burning. My heart was pumping so hard I thought it was going to burst.
Eventually the train got to Waterloo, the platforms were dark and full of smoke.
I screamed at my colleague to "Run!" and we did, through all the back exits which we knew having travelled that route for many months. Tourists were all milling around, utterly confused.
Emerge to ground level and the station is closed with fire brigades everywhere. Thankfully a 'small' track-side fire and contained.
f
king scary though.Only a few weeks after the Kings Cross fire getting stuck between stations on the underground and the train not moving for about 20 mins with no clue as to what was happening.
Had our then two young children with us who kept asking why the train had stopped.
I haven't been on the underground since and never will again.
I don't recall having a massively scary single moment, but not knowing if I'll keep hold of my job at the moment (through no fault of my own) at a time where companies are shedding headcount left, right and centre, and having significant savings but all tied up in pensions I can't access yet is pretty high up there! 
Waking up to find our nearly 3 year old son projectile vomiting blood and then subsequently being taken to GOSH where due to initial observations they decided to do a bone marrow test for Leukaemia.
It was start of lockdown so only one of us could be with him.
We had a newborn, so we were all split up for a few weeks.
All I could think was that we’d just become a family of 4, and how we might end up a family of 3 again very soon.
Weeks/months of on and off platelet transfusions and pleased to say other than the odd blip, he is going to be ok.
It was start of lockdown so only one of us could be with him.
We had a newborn, so we were all split up for a few weeks.
All I could think was that we’d just become a family of 4, and how we might end up a family of 3 again very soon.
Weeks/months of on and off platelet transfusions and pleased to say other than the odd blip, he is going to be ok.
I think for most of us, kids have got to have given us plenty of scarey moments.
My youngest, when he was 16, had been hanging out with 'mates'.
He had taken a lot of something and had collapsed. Luckily he was still with people as if it had happened on his own, well it was a very cold night.
The 'mates' dumped him on our doorstep and his mum got him to hospital.
He didn't wake up for 16 hours. I got there and the docs were just puzzled but then no-one knew what he had taken.
I remember crying over his body willing him to wake up.
He did, eventually, and wasn't bothered. Just wanted to leave the hospital and see his girlfriend.
He couldn't understand why the fuss and we never found out what he'd taken.
Bloody kids
My youngest, when he was 16, had been hanging out with 'mates'.
He had taken a lot of something and had collapsed. Luckily he was still with people as if it had happened on his own, well it was a very cold night.
The 'mates' dumped him on our doorstep and his mum got him to hospital.
He didn't wake up for 16 hours. I got there and the docs were just puzzled but then no-one knew what he had taken.
I remember crying over his body willing him to wake up.
He did, eventually, and wasn't bothered. Just wanted to leave the hospital and see his girlfriend.
He couldn't understand why the fuss and we never found out what he'd taken.
Bloody kids
croyde said:
A few in my 60 years but that one about the van reminded me of similar.
I had my two young boys in the car as I headed down dark country roads to my place late one night.
I passed a road with a astra van waiting to join the road. As soon as I passed it sped out and sat inches from my bumper with the two maniacs inside screaming at me through open windows.
They kept trying to ram me then tried to overtake and swerve into me.
Luckily I was in my old e36 so had power and handling but the roads were rough, narrow and very tight bends.
This carried on for a mile or so until I got to the roundabout and the main road.
Meanwhile I'm just trying to calm the boys saying it's just a bit of fun.
Once on the main road, I floored it with just a mile to my cottage to go. I got some distance but as I had to turn off onto another B road I thought that stopping at my place would now be a bad idea as they'd see where I lived.
So I carried on. The boys wanted to know why I had passed my house so I just said that I thought they'd like a little bit of a drive in the countryside.
Thanks to the van occupants being utter loons and probably knowing the roads better than I, they caught up and once again tried to get side by side. I kept swerving whilst trying to think if the police station would be open in the nearest town.
I headed back towards the main road and hit another roundabout. I went round it twice with them behind then headed for the town.
Thankfully, at that point they gave up, or had had their fun and they went off in another direction.
In all it probably was only 15 minutes but was terrifying.
Hope those tts got some karma from someone bigger than me, or lost control of their van and hit a tree somewhere.
To you and the similar post above, is this because they were trying to carJack you I assume? I had my two young boys in the car as I headed down dark country roads to my place late one night.
I passed a road with a astra van waiting to join the road. As soon as I passed it sped out and sat inches from my bumper with the two maniacs inside screaming at me through open windows.
They kept trying to ram me then tried to overtake and swerve into me.
Luckily I was in my old e36 so had power and handling but the roads were rough, narrow and very tight bends.
This carried on for a mile or so until I got to the roundabout and the main road.
Meanwhile I'm just trying to calm the boys saying it's just a bit of fun.
Once on the main road, I floored it with just a mile to my cottage to go. I got some distance but as I had to turn off onto another B road I thought that stopping at my place would now be a bad idea as they'd see where I lived.
So I carried on. The boys wanted to know why I had passed my house so I just said that I thought they'd like a little bit of a drive in the countryside.
Thanks to the van occupants being utter loons and probably knowing the roads better than I, they caught up and once again tried to get side by side. I kept swerving whilst trying to think if the police station would be open in the nearest town.
I headed back towards the main road and hit another roundabout. I went round it twice with them behind then headed for the town.
Thankfully, at that point they gave up, or had had their fun and they went off in another direction.
In all it probably was only 15 minutes but was terrifying.
Hope those t
ts got some karma from someone bigger than me, or lost control of their van and hit a tree somewhere.
Balaclava checkpoint. People coming out of the hedge to stop your car.
But TBH that's not the scariest situation I've been in. It did regularly get the blood pumping though.
Scariest was when watching a family member choking and not knowing what to do, the feeling of helplessness is scary. Live and learn, I now know what I'd do (if he's reading strangle him, kidding) and he's still alive but that was probably my scariest moment.
But TBH that's not the scariest situation I've been in. It did regularly get the blood pumping though.
Scariest was when watching a family member choking and not knowing what to do, the feeling of helplessness is scary. Live and learn, I now know what I'd do (if he's reading strangle him, kidding) and he's still alive but that was probably my scariest moment.
During my placement year at uni, was chatting to my then GF on the phone as she walked home from work, around midnight. Mid conversation there’s screams and the line goes dead. Couldn’t get her back on the phone. Dialed 999 straight away and the time between then and the police calling me from her living room to say she was ok was perhaps the most terrifyingly impotent 30mins of my life.
For my own safety, I did a job in Indonesia and had the afternoon off so me and a colleague thought we’d head to the beach. The taxi dropped us at the wrong place as there was an inlet between where we were and the beach proper. No issue, we just kicked off our sandals and waded in.
There was a current but it didn’t feel too bad. I was in front, and in 2 steps went from water around my shin level to being in to waist and then chest height and carried off my feet. By the time I’d righted myself and looked back, I was 50-60m away from my friend already.
Got caught in a bit of a rip tide / eddy / whatever. Started panicking big time and swimming for the bank as I was being swept out to sea. Honestly thought I was going to drown and that this was my time, but managed to get close enough to the shallower water to grab a rock and drag myself out on the last metre of bank remaining. Lay there puffing and panting, had used every last bit of energy to do that.
Told the full tale to my Aussie colleague that evening. Of course being told by him what to do in that situation (let the current take you and swim back easy from open water) made me feel stupid about the whole thing, but that’s about as close as my mind has ever come to ‘this is it’
ETA: I’ve been in some shady situations since then, been to active war zones as a civvy, seen people die in front of me, had guns pressed up against me barrel first on a couple of occasions. The 2 above are still the ones that stick in my mind.
For my own safety, I did a job in Indonesia and had the afternoon off so me and a colleague thought we’d head to the beach. The taxi dropped us at the wrong place as there was an inlet between where we were and the beach proper. No issue, we just kicked off our sandals and waded in.
There was a current but it didn’t feel too bad. I was in front, and in 2 steps went from water around my shin level to being in to waist and then chest height and carried off my feet. By the time I’d righted myself and looked back, I was 50-60m away from my friend already.
Got caught in a bit of a rip tide / eddy / whatever. Started panicking big time and swimming for the bank as I was being swept out to sea. Honestly thought I was going to drown and that this was my time, but managed to get close enough to the shallower water to grab a rock and drag myself out on the last metre of bank remaining. Lay there puffing and panting, had used every last bit of energy to do that.
Told the full tale to my Aussie colleague that evening. Of course being told by him what to do in that situation (let the current take you and swim back easy from open water) made me feel stupid about the whole thing, but that’s about as close as my mind has ever come to ‘this is it’
ETA: I’ve been in some shady situations since then, been to active war zones as a civvy, seen people die in front of me, had guns pressed up against me barrel first on a couple of occasions. The 2 above are still the ones that stick in my mind.
Edited by shirt on Sunday 12th February 10:58
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