Pensioner cut free from her car after road smash in Wigan village

Shevington Lane was closed to traffic for some time as the rescue operation continued

Firefighters took half an hour to extricate the 70-year-old, who appeared to have escaped relatively unscathed from the smash on Shevington Lane, Shevington, at 8.55pm on Monday.

The woman was the driver of a Renault Kadjar which was in collision with a Vauxhall Zafira close to Shevington Park.

The occupants of the latter vehicle - two men - suffered bruising and went to hospital for a precautionary check-up.

The men themselves tried to free the woman from her car but were unable to do so.

Social media talk about the collision mentioned there being a considerable amount of blood on the ground.

The Zafira passenger told wigantoday: "There was indeed a lot of blood but no-one could see where it came from. It certainly wasn't us or the lady.

"The police were searching around to see if there was another casualty or a wild animal.

"What happened is all a blur. One minute we were driving up the lane with the radio on, the next there was silence, bright lights and air bags going off.

"We were a bit bumped and bruised and went to hospital but were OK and so was the lady.

"We did try to get the lady out but the door was stuck fast and it needed the fire brigade with their specialist equipment to free her."

Crew manager Steven Waygood from Wigan fire station said: "The lady in the car seemed fine, other than taking a bit of a bump to the head from a curtain airbag.

"As a result we took our time in freeing her from the vehicle. We used what are called the 'jaws of life' to take the driver's door off before she was sent off to hospital just for a check-up.

"She seemed fit and well."

The road was closed for a time while the extrication took place and the scene cleared.