A woman was pulled to safety from a car perched perilously above a 100ft drop.

The injured woman was trapped in the upturned Toyota Corolla resting against a tree above the drop for almost half an hour before being rescued by firefighters.

Crews had to secure the car before they were able to bring the woman to safety.

Police said the car left the road after colliding with a Vauxhall Combo van and careered 15ft down the embankment before hitting the tree. The accident happened around 2.30pm on Tuesday at Burdon Plain, Sunniside, Tyne and Wear.

Terry Ray, station manager at West Denton who helped with the rescue, said today: "The woman had been very lucky indeed.

"If the car hadn't come to rest against the tree it could have carried on down the embankment.

"It was a tricky operation because it was a very steep hillside and it was grassy underfoot."

Crews from Durham and Gateshead were first at the scene.

The Gateshead woman, who has not bee named, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, with a suspected pelvic and other injuries.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police, who are investigating the incident, said the woman was detained overnight.

Two women in the van were taken to Dryburn Hospital, Durham.

They are not being identified and their injuries are believed to have been minor.