AN elderly couple were "lucky to be alive" after their car flipped over and rolled down a 12-foot embankment in Hawkshaw following a collision.

The couple had to be cut free from their wrecked Rover Metro on Saturday afternoon. The car was being driven along Bolton Road when it collided with an oncoming Range Rover. The Metro flipped over several times before plunging over a wall and down a steep embankment.

Members of the public who witnessed the accident cared for the injured until fire and ambulance crews arrived.

A spokesman for the emergency services said: "The damage to the Metro car was severe and its occupants are lucky to be alive. They suffered relatively minor injuries."

Firefighters had to cut away the Metro's roof and steering wheel to allow access to the driver and his wife. They were removed from the wreckage on spinal boards.

The driver and a passenger in the Range Rover were also treated for cuts and bruising by ambulance crews at the scene before all four casualties were taken to Fairfield General Hospital for further treatment.