AN Army Reservist has been hailed a hero after helping a woman who became trapped when her car flipped into a ditch.

Graham Allinson, 48, was driving near Easingwold, North Yorkshire, when a car in front of him appeared to swerve and flipped several times before crashing upside down in a ditch.

A witness has told how Mr Allinson jumped from his car as others drove past and climbed into the ditch where the 23-year-old woman was trapped.

Having switched off her car engine and taken out the keys, he spent an hour with her - trying to keep her conscious by talking and using an Army sleeping bag to keep her warm as she was in shock and her pulse was racing.

The Reservist with 4 Yorks battalion in York and former Army soldier said he was driving with his daughter when they saw the car ahead appear to suddenly veer to the left and right and then crash.

"It was awful when I first spoke to her," he said, "I was shouting 'can you hear me?' and I didn't get an answer.

"She did start talking but she was in shock. I kept talking to her, it was what I was trained to do. I told her to keep her head still. I just did what the Army taught me to."

When the police and fire service arrived at the scene, Mr Allinson stayed with the woman as the road was closed and the back window of the car was removed to free her.

After being taken to York Hospital, the woman, who works as a veterinary nurse in Easingwold, has been allowed to return home.