A WOMAN was rescued after her car careered off the road and nearly plunged down a 100ft bank.

Firefighters from Tyne and Wear and County Durham brigades went to the A6076 road at Burdon Plain, between Stanley and Sunniside, in Gateshead, after the crash at about 2.30pm on Tuesday .

A Vauxhall van collided with the woman's Toyota Corolla, which smashed through a fence and left the road.

It flipped on to its roof and slid about 20ft down a steep bank, but was saved from a much bigger fall when it collided with a tree.

The vehicle was balanced so precariously that firefighters had to secure it with ropes before they could rescue the driver, who was trapped by the steering wheel.

Firefighters from High Handenhold station, near Stanley, were first on the scene.

Station manager Andy Whitehead said: "It had begun to roll down the bank, but fortunately, the roll was arrested by a tree.

"There was very possibly another 80 feet to go. If that tree had not stopped it, the car would have gone. It was a lucky escape."

The woman victim was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead with suspected pelvic injuries. The male driver of the van also suffered minor injuries and was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham.