A YOUNG driver had an astonishing escape when his car careered out of control up a grass embankment and ploughed into a tree.

Brian Dickinson, aged 18, was pinned in the tangled wreckage of his car by the crushed steering wheel. He was cut free by firefighters.

Police said Mr Dickinson, of St James Street, Farnworth, was "lucky to be alive".

The accident happened as Mr Dickinson was driving a two-litre Cavalier along Watersmeeting Road, Bolton, near Britannia Bridge, at 8pm on Saturday.

A police spokesman said the car suddenly swerved out of control, mounted the pavement and careered 40 yards up a grass embankment before crashing into a tree.

Mr Dickinson was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital with two broken legs and a fractured pelvis. He was described as "comfortable" by a hospital spokesman.

Police accident investigation officers were called to the scene. The road was closed for up to two hours before the wreckage was cleared away.

No other vehicle was involved in the crash.

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