A TRAGEDY was avoided by sheer luck when a car overturned on to the pavement in a town centre street.

Amazingly, no-one was on the pavement in Higher Church Street, Blackburn, at the moment when the purple Yugo swerved across the road and crashed on Saturday afternoon. Normally, it is bustling with shoppers.

The car hit the kerb and flipped over on to its side opposite Sam's Bar and just a few feet away from a bus stop.

The driver was trapped inside until firefighters could stabilise the car and an emergency crew could help him get out.

Paramedics Barry Young and Brian Almond treated the driver at the scene for chest and leg injuries and whiplash. They took him to Blackburn Royal Infirmary where he was detained for observation.

The crowd that quickly gathered had to be broken up by police to allow firefighters to clear away the wreckage and swill away oil and petrol from the pavement.

David Dewhurst, from nearby Dewhurst Electrical, heard the accident and called for the emergency services.

He said: "We didn't actually see it but we heard this very loud crash that sounded like metal and glass.

"At first I couldn't see anything because there was a bus at the bus stop, but then I noticed the car on the pavement so I called for the fire and ambulance.

"We see a lot of small bumps and scrapes on this road but this is one of the worst."

Police are investigating the incident.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.