A woman whose elderly mother was trapped in a flipped-over car has thanked three ‘wonderful’ men for rushing to her aid.
Elizabeth, in her 80s, escaped miraculously unscathed after her car crashed into a fence and tree then rolled onto its side in Homefield Close, off Fortyfoot Road in Leatherhead, on Sunday afternoon.
Her daughter, who lives in the close, and wanted to remain anonymous, said: "It all happened so quickly.
"I literally said goodbye to her and walked up to the house and heard a crash as the car went into the fence.
"The car was on its side. I ran down to see what had happened."
She said her mother was held in the driver's seat by her seat belt and the airbag, appeared unhurt and was able to speak.
Two men ran to help the daughter try to open the car door and reassure her mother while another man called the emergency services.
She said: "The three men were wonderful. We got mum to turn off the ignition and to push the key fob to unlock the doors."
Firefighters then arrived and took over asking them to stand back as the car roof was cut off to free her mother, who was able to stand.
The daughter said: "I was so terribly grateful that help rallied round and people seemed to know what to do.
"The help came so quickly and she was clearly safe so quickly, I didn't have ages to worry.
"It was a shock of course, most of all for her. She will be shocked for a while."
Her mother only apparent injury was soreness caused by the seatbelt and, after being assessed by the ambulance crew, she did not even need to go to hospital.
She said: "Miraculously she was unhurt and there was terrific help from the emergency services and the public, for which we were very grateful."
The daughter plans to write letters to thank the police, firefighters and ambulance crew and has bought a bottle of wine for one of the men who helped.
But she does not know where the other two men live because they just 'melted away'. She said: "They did not want recognition. They were just doing a good turn."
The police and ambulance service confirmed that they were called to the scene at 4.45pm after a blue Ford Focus crashed into a fence.
An Epsom firefighter, who attended the crash, said: "We believe she pressed the wrong pedal and the car flipped onto its side and was half way into a garden.
"When we turned up, members of the public were holding the door open.
"They were helping her with some risk to themselves because, if the car had rolled, that could have crushed them. It was very impressive.
"We stabilised the car and cut the roof so the lady could walk out."
Crew commander Chris Wasson, who was on the first of two fire engines to arrive, said two men had managed to lift the door up vertically.
He said: "I thought that was quite brave of them because the danger was the car could have rolled over. They were an incredible help for us."
Crew commander Russell Giles, on the second fire engine, said: "She came round the corner, crashed into a tree and a fence then came to rest on the side of a new build."
He said heat and engine fuel were always a dangerous combination, adding: "With any car collision there is the possibility of ignition."
A neighbour, who was in her garden at the time of the accident, said: "I just heard the crash. The tree that was knocked over must have saved her."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here