Trio hailed heroes after they rescued driver from car

THREE Welshmen have been hailed heroes after they ran to the rescue of a driver whose car had crashed off the road into woods.

Luckily, Darren Morecroft and his two colleagues saw the beige Panda veer off the carriageway as it disappeared into thick hedgerow and couldn’t be seen from the road.

Darren, 37, and his passengers Gareth Summers, 40, and Tim Godsall, 35, ran into the woods and found an elderly driver “struggling to breathe”.

The car had flipped onto it side and was filled with smoke.

Darren, from Cardiff, said: “As we got closer we realised the car was on its side and smoke was filling the inside of the car.

“A person was struggling to breathe and deflate his airbags. He was dazed and confused.

“Gareth and I jumped up onto the side of the vehicle and forced the passenger window in to allow the smoke to escape.”

The trio, who work for Legal and General, had been travelling from Cardiff to a work conference in Brighton when the drama unfolded on Sunday afternoon at Leigh Delamere services.

A photo taken by the rescuers showed the path forged through the grass by the car which crashed off a M4 slip road.

Darren added: “We shouted is there anybody else in the vehicle before grabbing him under the arms and lifting him out.

“The door had become trapped under a branch of a tree.”

As Darren and Gareth lifted the injured driver out of the wreckage, Tim was phoning 999 to explain what had happened to the emergency services.

The local police force tweeted saying: “One very lucky driver at M4 Leigh Delamere services. No injuries.”

Darren believes the crash highlighted the importance of taking frequent breaks on motorway journeys.

He said: “We were told he was very lucky that we were behind him as nobody would have seen the car disappearing into the woods.

“I would like to highlight the importance of taking frequent breaks on journeys as the driver either blacked out or fell asleep at the wheel.”

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We were called to this single vehicle RTC around 2.30pm on Sunday.

“A beige Fiat Panda left the slip road of the services and turned over.

“The driver managed to get out and was checked over by paramedics but he’d received only minor injuries. He was taken to the Great Western Hospital for a check-up.”