A driver whose car took off after it hit a bollard early on Monday was pulled from the wreckage as the car lay on its side on a busy main road.

The accident happened in Main Road, Broomfield, opposite School Road, around 6.45 am.

Julie Sullivan, 36, who lives in Main Road, was trapped in the car after it crashed. She was treated for bruises, but declined hospital treatment.

Colin Moth, of Great Leighs, who had been driving behind her, said: "After the car hit the bollard, it launched itself and finished on its offside.

"Another chap and I tried to right it, but couldn't.

"The woman was struggling inside and we managed to open the passenger side door and pull her out."

Mr Moth, the Essex Chronicle's computer systems manager, sat the injured driver in his car and put a blanket round her to keep her warm.

He said: "An ambulance man who had just come off duty and was passing examined her, and she was then treated in the ambulance that arrived.

"She was lucky not to be seriously injured."

Colin Moth.

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