FIRE crews from Haslemere and Farnham were involved in a dramatic rescue of a man whose car came off a bridge at Tilford, last week.

The car was left dangling over the side of East Bridge, narrowly avoiding plunging into the freezing River Wey after the accident at around 8.30am last Thursday.

The motorist, a man in his 50s, suffered only minor injuries and escaped through the sunroof of the vehicle with the help of Farnham fire crew.

Now drivers and pedestrians could face delays around Tilford after Surrey County Council said the bridge will remain closed until Sunday, February 12 for repairs while a new wooden fence is installed. Surrey Police said the silver Honda CRV skidded on ice causing it to fall over the side of the bridge.

There had been calls for more heavy duty protection on the bridge, but the council needs approval from the Environment Agency and English Heritage for temporary and permanent repairs.

One budding, intrepid reporter from All Saints Infant School provided The Herald with a description of the accident and a drawing of the aftermath.

Timothy Marshall, aged five, wrote to say how the driver emerged with just a splinter after the fire brigade and police arrived at the scene.

The motorist was helped by a number of onlookers including a “Mrs Bedford who gave him a biscuit”, Timothy added.