An elderly couple had an "astonishing" escape after their car was left tottering on the edge of a 5ft culvert in a road accident.

Fire crews from York and Malton released the couple after using winches to hold their car steady in the incident.

The dramatic rescue happened last night after their car was in collision with a cattle trailer being pulled by a Land Rover on the road from Buttercrambe to the A166, near Stamford Bridge.

The white Datsun Sunny then hit a tree on the left of the road and became wedged against it above a 5ft culvert which ran underneath the road.

Assistant Divisional Officer Steve Cluderay, who led the operation, said: "The whole front left hand side of the car was pointing down into the ditch and the rear was sticking up in the air.

"It appeared the couple weren't badly injured but couldn't get out. We had to pull the car partly out of the ditch so we could get round to the passenger side.

"The elderly lady passenger was able to walk out by herself but the driver's feet were trapped so we had to cut away some of the car to release him."

The couple were taken to York District Hospital for shock and minor injuries.

"They had an astonishing escape," said Mr Cluderay.

"I expected there to be some severe injuries when I saw the car and the couple seem to have got out quite lightly."

The driver of the car was William Thorpe, 85, of Garforth, near Leeds, and the driver of the Land Rover pulling the trailer was James Hudson, of Flaxton, York.

In an earlier accident, fire crews had to cut free a man from the wreckage of a two-car smash on the B1228 at Newthorpe at 5.15 last night.

One person was taken to York District Hospital following the accident.

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