Crash driver survives peat-bog horror

WRITE-OFF . . . firefighters examine the wrecked car

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EMERGENCY services praised a team of helpers who rescued a motorist trapped in an overturned car that was sinking into a peat bog.

The Jaguar XJ careered across the A635 Holmfirth to Greenfield road, through a fence, rolled over and landed upside down on its roof just after 3pm on Saturday.

Two men from the Holmfirth area were in the high-powered vehicle, worth about £60,000.

The 37-year-old front-seat passenger managed to scramble clear of the wreckage, but the 47-year-old driver was trapped by his legs as it began to settle in the bog.

Motorists rushed to his aid and helped keep his head above the surface of the bog as emergency services raced to the scene.

An air ambulance from Yorkshire landed on the closed roadway and took the trapped man, who suffered a serious neck injury, to hospital in Leeds.

The passenger was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital suffering leg and back injuries.

Sisters Linda Radcliffe and Jean Smith, who were returning from sheep dog trials in Holmfirth, were some of the first people first at the scene.

Jean, a club steward from Ashton-under-Lyne, said: “It was horrific.

“The were bits of the car all over the place and one of the wheels had been torn off.

“The car itself landed upside down and one of the men from the car scrambled back underneath to help his mate who was trapped.

“My sister gave them a cushion to help keep his head above water.

“Another passing motorist loaned me a florescent jacket and I began stopping other motorists and stood guard at a makeshift road block to ensure the way was keep clear until the main body of rescue vehicles arrived.”

As there was no mobile phone signal, passerbys were sent to a pub a couple of miles away to call for assistance.

Linda, from Mossley, insisted they were not heroes.

She said: “Everyone just mucked is and did their best to be helpful.

“I had a new cushion in the car but we gave it to the lads trying to keep the chap’s head above water.

“The people on board were very lucky to be alive.”

Firefighters from Mossley waded knee-deep into the bog with special hydraulic equipment to raise the wrecked car and release the trapped man.

Watch Commander Mark Hall said: “The trapped man said water was on his face, so we didn’t have much time at all.

“The car was lying upside down in the soggy peat and the real danger was the man in the car could have sunk into the quagmire as the weight of the car settled.

“Passers-by showed tremendous public spiritedness and initiative.”

Inspector Chris Gloster (correct), of GMP’s Road Traffic Unit based at Chadderton, said: “The public’s help was absolutely invaluable.

“They did a marvellous job.”