A WEYMOUTH musician is being described as a ‘Christmas miracle man’ after he survived a horrific motorway crash which cut his car in half.

Chris Jones, drummer with Celtic rock band The Dolmen, escaped with minor injuries after his car left the M11 in Essex and collided with a large motorway sign.

The impact sliced the vehicle in two.

No-one was trapped when rescuers arrived and Mr Jones, who is in his 20s, was given first aid at the roadside.

Mr Jones was kept in hospital for checks but released later.

Emergency services described it as an ‘incredible escape’.

Hundreds of people have left messages of support for Mr Jones on The Dolmen’s Facebook page.

Mr Jones, who has been with the acclaimed band for four years, suffered cuts and bruises but is still said to be traumatised following the incident.

It is unclear whether he will be joining the group for a big New Year’s Eve musical bash at the John Gregory pub tonight.

Founder and lead singer of the Weymouth-based group Tony Jameson, known as Taloch, said Mr Jones was embracing the fact he was still alive and that ‘life is the best Christmas gift ever.’ He said: “We are calling him our Christmas miracle man.

“If you see the pictures you will see the crash cut the car in half. There’s nothing left of it.

“It’s scary stuff. We thought we had lost him.”

Mr Jameson said it was the second lucky escape from a car crash for a Dolmen band member in recent weeks.

In November, bass player Kayleigh Marchant suffered minor injuries when her car skidded on ice near Weymouth and flipped over on its roof.

Mr Jameson said: “We spend our lives on the road, touring in Britain and Europe. When things like this happen it makes us not want to get in our cars again.”

Despite this, Mr Jameson said 2014 was due to be another busy year for the band with a new album out and a tour of Europe planned in the spring.

He added: “Chris is hoping to play with us New Year’s Eve. He’s a strong man. I think the fact he has such a physique helped him survive that crash.”

Mr Jones was driving on the M11 on Christmas Eve when the crash happened at Junction 9A Stumps Cross, Great Chesterford.

Incident Commander Nigel Webb from Essex County Fire & Rescue Service said: “The vehicle had left the road and collided with a large motorway sign, the impact effectively sliced the vehicle in half sending the front of the vehicle into the nearside bushes and the rear half onto the hard shoulder, simply an incredible escape for the driver.”