A FATHER and son described how they helped a mystery hero to pull a woman from her car seconds before it burst into flames.

Robert West and his son, Thomas, 17, leapt into action when they heard a huge bang outside their home in Dene Villas, near Chilton, County Durham, on Saturday morning.

Mr West ran outside to discover a woman trapped in her car after it swerved off the road and hit a tree.

After calling 999, he and Thomas returned and found a passing motorist had stopped to help.

The driver, a 49-year-old local woman, was drifting in and out of consciousness. Her head had smashed through the side window and the car roof was crushing her from above.

Mr West, a 63-year-old retired oil rig worker, prised open the driver’s door to support her head as the other man got into the passenger seat and slid her out of the car.

About 15 to 20 seconds later, the car caught fire.

Mr West said: “He shouted that he could see smoke and then there were flames inside the car. When you see a woman hanging out of her car, there is no choice; you cannot be hysterical, you just want to help.”

The modest duo praised the heroics of the passer-by, who was wearing a fluorescent vest.

Mr West said: “It does not bear thinking about what would have happened had this other man not stopped.

“It really takes something to get into a burning car to help a stranger. She was really brave and calm, too.”

Thomas, a student at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, in Darlington, who tried to extinguish the flames, said: “In the click of a finger, the car was engulfed in flames.

“The guy who got her out made a split-second decision to help and probably saved her life.

“Afterwards, he just got in his truck and left.”

The woman was airlifted to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, where she is still being treated.

She suffered a severe cut to her head, a broken chest bone and broken right arm, but her condition was improving.

It is thought the woman, who was travelling to Darlington where she works in a bank, crashed her Nissan Almera because the road was icy and she was dazzled by the low sun.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident, on the road between Chilton and Kirk Merrington, at about 8.15am on Saturday is asked to call 0191-375-2159.

■ Do you know the mystery hero? Call reporter Catherine Priestley on 01388-602232.