A MAN rushed to a couple's aid after their car went over the side of a bridge, flipped over and rolled down the bank. 

56-year-old Trevor Winn was following the couple down Cautley Road (A683) on Friday towards Sedbergh on his drive home from work.

He said that the man driving the car had been steady, only driving at 40 miles per hour along the national speed-limit road. 

When they approached Straight Bridge the car had reduced its speed further to around 30 miles per hour, said Mr Winn.

"All of a sudden he seemed to go straight on like he lost control somehow. The car went right up in the air and slowly over," he said.

The Mail: The car ended up on its roof on the bank of the River RawtheyThe car ended up on its roof on the bank of the River Rawthey (Image: Trevor Winn)

"It was a bit of a shocker. It is a long time since I have seen anything like that. It happened in slow-motion, I heard the bang. I called the emergency services, got down and went in. I am first-aid trained. I could hear the lady screaming. I heard the window smash, they managed to get outside the passenger side window.

"The bloke seemed alright. I walked the lady up to my car and got some antiseptic wipes and bandages."

When asked if he thought the couple was lucky, he said: "Yes. The fact that it flipped over and it went 35 feet straight down. An emergency service worker told me if it hadn't been a Mitsubishi it would have been a cut-out job." 

The Mail: The couple sent Mr Winn these gifts afterwardsThe couple sent Mr Winn these gifts afterwards (Image: Trevor Winn)

The car was now resting on its roof on the bank of the River Rawthey, next to the Grade-II listed bridge. Mr Winn said that the woman was bleeding quite heavily from her legs and the car was presumably leaking fluids into the river.

However, the emergency services took some time to arrive due to the fact that the couple were out of the car and it was not on fire. 

When Mr Winn left the scene the services had a difficult job of lifting the car off the bank and back up to the road. 

The couple gave Mr Winn a letter and a gift thanking him for helping them in their time of need. Mr Winn said that he thought metal barriers should be installed on the sharp bend before the bridge.