AN AMESBURY man who dragged a woman from her car seconds before it was engulfed in flames says he was lucky to be in the "right place, at the right time with the right tools".

Luke Ridley was on his way to work in his van on the A303 near Solstice Park on Friday morning when he saw a Nissan Micra leave the road and end up in bushes by the side of the road.

He immediately pulled the van over and went to help.

The 30-year-old tree surgeon said: "When I first stopped I don't think I thought it was going to be nearly as serious as it was, because you think you have got a bit of time.

"Once it [the car] started setting alight it really kicked it into gear that it was extremely dangerous and scary."

He said: "The car was on the driver's side. I phoned the police as I was trying to get the doors open. The call centre guy said to me have got anything in the van you can break the windows with so ran back to the van to get a pickaxe I had with me.

READ: 'Champion for the city' led campaign that saved Salisbury's cinema >>>

"Luckily when I got back there I could get the boot open and then speak to the lady inside, she was conscious and was just a bit disoriented.

"When she couldn't get her seat belt off that was when the car started to set alight."

Luke ran back to his van to get a hand saw to cut the seat belt and free the woman.

He said the car went up in flames "extremely fast", adding: "That was it, I had to do something, fast."

"Luckily, because I couldn't get fully into the car as I couldn't get the seats down, she was able to stand herself upright and put her arms into the back," added Luke, who was able to drag her out of the car.

"I think it would have been a bit more tricky had she been more injured. It was quite amazing she had no injuries from the crash and was still able to stand up. It's crazy."

He said: "You have got adrenalin going. The realisation kicked in that it was very serious once it started setting on fire. I had the call centre people on the phone the whole time who stayed on the phone with me. They were very helpful and calming and giving me ideas of things I could do in the meantime.

"I don't think I really had time to think about it. I was get in, get out.

"Once I got her out it was a huge relief."

The car was completely destroyed in the blaze. And other than smoke inhalation, the woman, who is in her 60s, was not injured and was taken home by police officers after being seen by paramedics.

Luke says it was a "pretty surreal Friday morning".

When asked how he feels to have saved someone's life, he said: "I don't really know, I don't think that sinks in. She was very lucky I was there at the right place and the right time with the right tools. Somebody else who may have stopped may not have had anything to cut the seatbelt with. It was a very fortunate set of circumstances. If I hadn't had a saw it would have been a very different story and that's a bit scary."

His actions have been praised by Wiltshire Police. Sergeant Russ Griffin said: “This man’s actions were nothing short of heroic – by using his tools from his van, he quickly rescued the woman from her vehicle prior to emergency services attending, and in doing so, he saved her life.

“He put his life on the line to save a complete stranger."