Couple's lucky escape as trees stop car careering down vertical drop at High Force

A COUPLE had a “lucky” escape after being rescued from a crash which left their car lodged on a vertical drop.
A pensioner was trapped in the vehicle following the incident on Sunday afternoon (May 21) which happened near to the entrance to High Force waterfall in upper Teesdale.
Two adults were travelling in the VW Polo, which left the road and came to rest on the steep embankment opposite The High Force Hotel.
Emergency services were called to the scene on the B6277 at noon. The road was closed for a number of hours while emergency services attended.
A fire brigade spokesperson said: “A private vehicle had collided with a wall. The vehicle then hit a tree which stopped it rolling down the bank.” Emergency teams stabilised the vehicle and then freed the female passenger. The driver escaped uninjured.
Jan Butterfield, who runs The High Force Hotel, said: “A member of staff who was outside heard a big bang when it happened.
“The back end of the car was all you could see from the road. It was nose down on the embankment. Luckily the wall and the trees were there, if you can say lucky, because it is quite a drop down.”
The woman, who was in her 70s, was taken by air ambulance to James Cook
University Hospital, in Middlesbrough. She was treated for minor injuries and remains in hospital.
No other vehicles were involved.