Miracle escape

Only his quick thinking in releasing the handbrake of his own car saved him from serious injury.

Mr Roberts, 19, of Derry Hill, told how he was sitting in his car in the car park of the Lysley Arms pub at 9.30pm on Friday when he saw a speeding car go out of control as it came down New Derry Hill on the A4

He then saw the car spin into the pub car park, before smashing into the Citroen Picasso parked next to him.

Incredibly, the force of the crash sent the Seat up into the air and Mr Roberts saw the car with its five occupants, hurtling towards him.

Desperately trying to put his car into reverse, Mr Roberts released his handbrake and because of a slope on the car park his car rolled several inches.

As a result of his quick thinking, the Seat ploughed into the front of his car instead of the driver's door, shattering the windscreen.

The other car then rolled across a line of four more parked cars, slicing the top off the car park wall, before finally coming to rest upside down on the roof of a parked Mercedes.

Mr Roberts, from Derry Hill, got out of his car unscathed.

"There's not a second gone by since Friday when I don't think about what could have happened," he said.

"When I got out of my car I was in a complete daze. I couldn't believe what happened."

The pub's assistant manager Lee Morris was behind the bar pouring drinks for customers when he heard the car crashing.

He raced outside to see if anyone was hurt and said the a scene that met him was like one from a Hollywood movie.

Mr Morris, 30, said he could hear people trapped in the wreckage of the three-door Seat screaming. He managed to drag two girls in the back of the car out of the broken rear window, sustaining cuts to his arms.

He said: "At first I thought it was an accident on the road outside the pub, but to see it in the car park was quite surreal and very eerie because it was so close.

"One girl was shaking and screaming for someone to get her out of the car and the people inside were clambering over each other to get out.

"I couldn't believe no-one was seriously hurt. They should thank their lucky stars. I think it's a tribute to how well modern cars are designed.

"Dan saved his own life. It took a cool head in the face of danger. I don't want to think how I would have reacted had I been in his situation.

"Our customers were fantastic. They were helping injured people and getting coffee and tea for them."

Sarah Bradford, 31, manager of the Lysley Arms called 999, and got customers inside because of the danger of leaked petrol from the crash car.

She said the inside of the pub resembled an incident room with paramedics treating injuries at one end of the room while the police took witness statements at the other.

She said: "I just heard a bang and a thud, which shook the whole pub. It's a huge relief that no-one was seriously injured. It shook a lot of us because this was so close to home."

The Gazette is currently campaigning to get safety measures installed on the A4 between Chippenham and Calne.

Ms Bradford has added her voice to the urgent call for action. She said: "The problems on the A4 are affecting trade. The road seems to be closed because of accidents every couple of weeks, but it has gone beyond that now because it's now started to affect the safety of my staff and our customers.

"It has become a notorious black spot, but it seems nothing is being done about it."

The driver of the Seat was a 22-year-old man from Calne. His four passengers were from Calne and Chippenham.

They were all treated for minor injuries at Chippenham Hospital. Four of the cars in the car park and the Seat will have to be written-off, and the cost is likely to be in the region of £70,000.

Police spokesman Steven Coxhead said: "It was a very serious incident that could so easily have had far more tragic consequences."

Our campaign will go on to make the A4 safer

IN December, the Gazette presented a 3,000-signature petition to Wiltshire County Council, demanding that new safety measures on the A4 between Chippenham and Calne should be installed as a matter of urgency.

The petition is being studied by the council's regulatory committee.

Chippenham Mayor, Coun Desna Allen, who has been an active force in the A4 Slow it Down campaign, said: "I was horrified to learn of this latest accident, but immensely glad to hear that no-one was injured.

"But this could so easily have been a very different story.

"This latest accident just reinforces our belief that something needs to be done about this road to make it safer."

If you have experienced problems or a dangerous incident on the A4 between Calne and Chippenham, or, if you would like to support the A4 Slow it Down campaign, please contact Debbie Waite on (01249) 654422 or e-mail dwaite@newswilts.co.uk