Perry Stellon tweeted this image of the car as emergency services arrived

Two police constables from Barnet borough have saved a woman’s life after her car was driven into a freezing lake off Totteridge Lane, N20.

The Metropolitan Police Service was called at 08.05 hrs this morning, 21 February, by a member of the public who saw the car being driven into the lake with the female driver apparently unconscious.

Officers were soon on the scene as the car began to sink under the water.

Fearing that the life of the driver was at imminent risk, the two male PCs entered the lake, smashed one of the car’s windows, which was submerged, and dragged the woman free before taking her back to dry land.

Officers and subsequently London Ambulance Service crew attended to the woman, aged in her 30s, and made attempts to warm her up as she displayed symptoms of possible hypothermia.

She has now been taken to a north London hospital for further treatment where her condition has been confirmed as non-life-threatening.

Enquiries continue into the circumstances in which the car drove into the lake.

Barnet Borough Commander Adrian Usher: “I am incredibly proud of these officers and would like to pay tribute to the speed and courage with which they acted to protect the life of this driver.

“In the bitterly cold conditions we have today, there is little doubt that a sustained period in the water would have posed a serious threat to the woman’s life.

“This incident demonstrates the lengths that officers in Barnet, London and across the country are willing to go to in order to protect members of the communities they serve, and they are deserving of our utmost gratitude.”

Police, fire and ambulance crews were called to Totteridge Lane where the blue Nissan Micra was left floating in the shallow waters shortly after 8am.

She was treated for back pain by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Barnet Hospital as a priority.

Traffic was brought to a standstill along the busy country lane as police closed the road in both directions.

The road has since reopened.