A CHORLEY man was left nursing cuts and bruises after driving off the top of Preston's most notorious suicide spot.

The man, 37, placed a rag in the Vauxhall Astra's petrol tank and set fire to it, before driving it off the eighth floor of Preston's bus station car park.

Miraculously, he escaped death as his car burst through the car parks' barrier at around 70mph, crashed onto the down ramp upside-down and flipped back over, coming to rest in Derby Street, at around 5.40pm on Sunday, November 7.

It is thought the car's airbag played a large part in saving his life.

A spokesman for Preston police emphasised how lucky the driver - and five pedestrians in the area - was to be alive.

He said: "As a result of a number of domestic problems, this man felt compelled to take his life in these circumstances.

"He's taken out a three-ton piece of concrete from the retaining wall of the bus station, which also came crashing down.

"After landing in the street, he got out of his car and a witness asked him if he was all right, to which he replied that he was 'still alive'.

"He is a very, very lucky man not to have been killed and there was something like five people within 20-yards of where he landed."

The bus station and Derby Street were closed off by police until 7.30pm while the car was removed and remedial repairs were made to the station.

The unnamed driver is being kept under guard in Royal Preston Hospital and could be arrested on arson, driving and damage charges.

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