A Shropshire man had a remarkable escape today after his car left the road and ended up down a 30ft ditch. The man walked away with only minor injuries from the wreckage.

The accident happened close to Harley Bank, near Much Wenlock, shortly after 8.15am.

An ambulance and incident support officer were sent to the scene.

A spokeswoman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said normally a drop from so high would usually lead to serious injuries or even prove fatal, but she said the man had defied the odds.

She said: “Crews arrived at the scene to find a severely damaged car at the bottom of a 30ft ditch just off the A458.

“Remarkably the driver of the car had managed to get himself out of the wreckage and made his way back up the steep ditch to the road before crews arrived.

“He had suffered relatively minor injuries considering the damage but crews immobilised him with a neck collar and spinal board as a precaution before he was transferred to Royal Shrewsbury Hospital for further assessment and treatment.”

Motorists endured rush-hour snarl-ups as a result of the crash. Firefighters from Shrewsbury, Much Wenlock, Tweedale and Wellington made the vehicle safe and the road reopened at about 9am.

Meanwhile one lane of the A5 in Shrewsbury near Emstrey traffic island was brought to a standstill after two vehicles collided at about 7.50am. No-one was injured in the crash.

A police spokeswoman said the road was partially blocked until 8.49am.