Crews rescue stream crash driver

THE overturned Suzuki Jimny on the A635 Isle of Skye Road

A DRIVER had a miraculous escape when his 4x4 landed upside down in a stream on a lonely cloud-shrouded moorland road yesterday.

Police, fire, ambulance and Oldham Mountain Rescue team raced to the scene on the notorious A635 Greenfield-Holmfirth road after reports that the driver was trapped in the vehicle.

They discovered the vehicle had landed on its roof in a water-filled ditch.

The driver, believed to be in his 30s, was suspended upside down by his seat belt above the waterline.

Fire crews entered the vehicle's rear door and the driver managed to crawl to safety without any injuries.

Police closed the road for several hours and an officer from Saddleworth and Lees policing team said at the scene: "The driver was very lucky.

"Seat belts do save lives and on this occasion the belt kept the driver's upper body above the water. It was a miracle escape."

Saddleworth parish councillor Neil Allsopp, who was driving on the road at the time of the incident, said: "It was a very dramatic situation. Initially, traffic pulled over to let emergency vehicles through. Then police closed the road and traffic was turned back."

Police remained at the scene to disperse fuel spillage from the damaged vehicle.

A spokesman for OMRT said although they attended they were not required