Heroic driver saves woman's life after crash

A MODEST yet heroic newspaper delivery driver has spoken of how he rescued a woman after her car skidded into a ditch and caught fire.

A MODEST yet heroic newspaper delivery driver has spoken of how he rescued a woman after her car skidded into a ditch and caught fire.

Braving the snowy conditions, Joss Gage, 24, from Lancaster Avenue, Watton, was in the middle of delivering EDPs and national newspapers for Edwards Newsagents Your Ideal Shop, in Watton, when the crash happened on the A1075 Watton Road at Wretham at about 7.10am on Thursday.

He said: 'I had just delivered a paper and was about to come out of a driveway when I saw a car shoot across in front of me and go straight into a ditch about 10 metres to the right of my van.

'I saw two headlights soaring past and then saw the car in a ditch.'

After calling the police Mr Gage quickly went over to the car.

'The passenger side was at the bottom of the ditch. I undid the driver door and checked if the lady was ok and if she needed an ambulance,' he said.

'I thought she might be injured and I was relived when she said she was ok.'

Because of the position of the car Mr Gage said the woman had difficulty getting out of the vehicle, and it was while helping her out of the car that Mr Gage realised it was on fire.

He said: 'I realised the front of the car was on fire because I smelt what I thought was burning plastic.

'I said, 'we have got to get you out of the car,' and between her pushing and me pulling we got her out.

'Just as we moved away from the car I think the radiator blew. There was a pop and a hissing noise.'

Mr Gage took the woman into a nearby home before waiting outside for the fire brigade for arrive. A fire crew from Thetford put out the blaze.

Mr Gage said he did not know the name of the woman who he rescued, but he said that her daughter had popped into Edwards Newsagents to say thank you, and to tell him that she was fine apart from being a bit stiff and having whiplash.

'I am just glad everybody is ok. I did what anybody would do,' said Mr Gage.

'You just react when you see something like that. I am sure most people would have reacted in the same way.'

A Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service spokesman: 'We arrived at the incident in Wretham to find a car on fire in a ditch and the crew did a good job dealing with it. We understand that before our arrival a delivery driver had pulled the car driver to safety and we would commend him for both his swift actions and his bravery.'