AN ELDERLY couple have told how they are “lucky to be alive” after they were trapped in a car upside down in a stream and feared they would drown.

Douglas and Maureen Gardner, from West Stafford, were driving home when their car struck a car travelling the other way. Their vehicle plunged 10ft off a bridge into the stream, just outside West Stafford, ending up on its roof.

The grandparents, aged 78 and 76, said it is “amazing” that they lived to tell the tale.

Mrs Gardner said: “I was screaming and screaming for someone to help us.

“My husband was trapped, and I was holding his head up out of the water.

“I thought he was going to drown.”

The couple have expressed their thanks to a Good Samaritan who climbed down a bank to reassure them until emergency services arrived.

On Tuesday, the Echo reported how Derek Bateman, who lives at Frome Hill Cottage, close to the scene of the accident, climbed down the bank of the stream into cold water to reach the trapped couple.

Mr Gardner said: “He was absolutely brilliant.

“He just couldn’t do enough for us and we are so thankful he stayed with us.”

He added: “I would really like to meet him to say thank you in person.”

Mr Bateman, 58, smashed the window of the car with a crow bar, after being alerted to the accident on Sunday evening by a loud bang.

Submerging himself in the cold water, he talked to the couple, whose car was filling up with eight inches of water, and told them that help was on its way.

Mr Bate-man said: “I did what anyone would have done in that situation.

“The lady who was driving the other car called the emergency services so I just went down to see if I could keep them calm.

“I’m glad there were no serious injuries and they are both recovering well.”

He added: “I am just happy to be able to help, but I’m not a hero.”

The couple were also full of praise for the emergency service crews who dismantled the side of the bridge to access the car, and took Mr Gardner out of the vehicle on a spinal board.

Mrs Gardner said: “They could not have been any better. They were so quick to arrive, and so caring.”

The couple were taken to Dorset County Hospital and treated for hypothermia before being discharged.

Mrs Gardner said: “It was frightening. The weather was just terrible, it was pitch black and teeming with rain.

“I don’t really remember a lot, but we’re okay now and that’s what matters.”

Mr Gardner added: “I’m really lucky to be alive.

“I’ve been quite ill recently, and though they say cats have nine lives, I think I must have a few myself.”