A BABY had a miraculous escape after being thrown through the sun roof of his mother's car when it went out of control on the motorway.

Paramedics said the four-month-old boy was sitting on his grandmother's knee in the front passenger seat of the red vehicle when the accident happened on the eastbound M65.

He landed unhurt at the side of the motorway as the car crashed onto an embankment and repeatedly flipped over at around 4.25pm yesterday.

He was rescued by a passing motorist, who pulled over between junction six at Whitebirk and seven at Clayton-le-Moors and lifted the child to safety.

Police were today waiting to speak to the woman and the child's mother, who was driving, and said they would consider charging those involved.

Both women, aged 50 and 25, were taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital with minor injuries after the accident. It took fire crews 90 minutes to cut them out of the vehicle.

The baby also went to hospital as a precaution. A two-year-old girl, who had been sitting in a child's seat in the back of the vehicle, was unhurt. The accident caused rush hour tailbacks on the motorway as police worked to clear wreckage.

Paramedic Eamonn Higgins, of Accrington ambulance station, said: "It is a miracle that this child survived, never mind without any major injuries. They were all very lucky. Children should always be strapped into a car seat."

A spokesman for Lancashire police said: "We are investigating the circumstances of this accident and the reasons for it.

"Part of that investigation will include the involvement of those in the car and whether offences have been committed."