Barman David Walker is lucky to be alive after he was speared through the arm when his car plunged down an embankment.

A fence post went straight through his right arm, severing a major artery.

David, 31, pulled out the post himself and a rescuer arrived to find him calmly holding his arm and listening to football commentary on the radio.

The crash happened on Sunday during a downpour on the A1 road at Teams Valley, Gateshead, as David drove to work.

His Vauxhall Vectra skidded, struck the central reservation, and went off the road. The post smashed through the side window and the point went through his arm near the elbow.

When he pulled it out blood gushed from the wound and he tried to staunch it with his left hand.

Despite his efforts, David would almost certainly have bled to death if qualified first aider Tom Domoney had not stopped.

He saw the accident and climbed into the car and stopped the flow of blood.

David, of Birtley, Gateshead, said: "I feel incredibly lucky. The funny thing is that Tom is a Sunderland fan and I support Newcastle. He's the last person I would have expected to rescue me.

"A jagged piece of fence post impaled my arm. I didn't feel any pain, all I could think about was getting out so I pulled the post out.

"Blood began pouring out and I started to panic. I am so lucky Tom was there, I can't thank him enough."

Father-of-five Tom, 44, of Westerhope, Newcastle, said: "He was conscious and seemed more worried about the Newcastle versus Arsenal match he had been listening to on the radio."