A GOOD Samaritan has told how he rescued two terrified children and dragged their panic-stricken mother away from the smoking wreckage of a road crash.

A GOOD Samaritan has told how he rescued two terrified children and dragged their panic-stricken mother away from the smoking wreckage of a road crash.

Quick-thinking Christian Lacey said his first thought was for the safety of the trapped occupants when he spotted smoke coming from the engine of the car wedged between two trees.

Recalling the crash on the A143 between Stradishall and Wickhambrook on Wednesday morning, Mr Lacey, 29, said: “I couldn't tell if they were seriously hurt but there was some smoke from the engine and I had no idea what could have happened.

“I was relieved when I realised no-one was seriously hurt. I didn't ever feel scared but I felt it was important to get them out of the vehicle.

“It was something I would always do and hope that someone would do it for me in the same situation.

“I didn't really think about it - there was just two little kids and a distraught mother and I wanted to get them to safety as quickly as possible.”

Mr Lacey, an operation support manager at Sainsbury's head office in London, was on a supporting store visit to Bury St Edmunds for the busy Easter period when he witnessed the aftermath of the crash. No other vehicles were believed to have been involved.

He explained: “The store manager Linda Alexander was driving to Bury St Edmunds when we saw that an accident had just happened.

“We saw a car had gone into a ditch so we decided to pull over to see if we could help. Linda rang the police and I went to see if anyone was hurt.

“The woman was in the front of the car while there were two boys crying in the back. My main concern was that I didn't know what was going on in the engine and there could have been petrol leaking or anything. I wanted to get them out of the vehicle.”

Mr Lacey, of Steeple Bumpstead, near Haverhill, opened the boot of the Toyota Celica and asked the children if they were hurt before encouraging them to remain calm while climbing through the back of the vehicle into his arms.

“I then had to get the lady to safety but she said she suffered from panic attacks and she had cut her head,” he said. “I went further into the car and grabbed her and then pulled her back through the vehicle.”

A spokesman for Suffolk police confirmed officers were called to the crash on the A143 at about 8.35am on Wednesday morning.

The female driver, who is believed to be from the Haverhill area, suffered minor injuries but was not taken to hospital.