Firefighters cut woman free after Shropshire crash leaves car suspended over brook
Firefighters rescued an elderly woman whose car left the road today and became suspended by two branches over a brook between Wellington and Newport.
Police closed the main road through Brockton, near Lilleshall, while firefighters worked to stabilise the car before removing the driver.
Crews from Telford Central, Newport and Wellington found the car suspended by two branches over the brook at about 1pm.
The car had veered off a bridge on the road between Longford and the junction with the Wellington Road A518, near to the Red House Inn.
Specialist rescue equipment including a crane was used to stabilise the car from above and below before crews were able to cut away the door and release the injured driver.
She was carried to an ambulance on a spinal board and rushed to hospital.
Station manager Guy Williams, of Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service, praised crews for their "outstanding" efforts during the rescue mission, which he said was one of the most challenging they had ever attended.
"The elderly woman was taken to hospital with injuries, but she was conscious. The extent of her injuries remains unknown. It was the strangest scenario that we have ever seen any driver get into, it is not known how she left the road.
"I want to praise the crews who worked at the scene to stabilise the car and the driver. Their work was outstanding and it was a hugely challenging job.
"The car was secured from beneath and a crane was used to lift it from above, this had to be done before the woman was moved or there would have been a risk to the lives of the paramedics and firefighters."
It came after crews were called to rescue a horse from a drain earlier today.
