A MOTORIST used his feet to break through the windscreen of a toppled lorry on the M25 and rescue the driver trapped inside.

Mr Kenneth Hadley fought his way through flames and thick smoke to pull the driver, Mr Darren Phillips, clear of the cab, after his lorry suffered a blow-out at 9.30am on Sunday.

The lorry collided with the central reservation of the eastbound road near Chorleywood and tipped on to its side.

Mr Hadley, who had been travelling behind the lorry, smashed the windscreen so he could pull Mr Phillips, of Romford, Essex, clear.

Mr Hadley, of Great Dunmow, Essex, said: "My first concern was about what the lorry was carrying and, because there was so much thick smoke pouring from the cab, I didn't realise at first the driver was trapped.

"When I saw him I realised he was stuck. I used my feet to smash the windscreen and grabbed him out by the shoulders. It was a spontaneous reaction, I just knew I had to get him out quickly.

"Diesel had started to leak from the tank and was spilling on to the cab and on to the road.

"It was like a scene from one of those action films with flames all around us."

Emergency crews were at the scene within minutes and the motorway was closed for over five-and-a-half hours, causing substantial delays throughout Sunday.

Mr Phillips suffered minor cuts and bruises.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.