A SWANAGE man is ‘lucky to be alive’ following a horror smash on the Upton Bypass.

The man, who was driving a black Vauxhall Corsa, is believed to have aquaplaned after driving into standing water.

Following the 9am incident on Saturday, the vehicle flipped and the man – who is believed to be in his early 20s – was trapped in the wreckage.

Mandy Walker, 49, and partner Carl Newbrook, 45, were the first on the scene, and kept the injured man talking before the emergency services arrived.

Mandy, of Poole, said: “He went past us, and after 300 metres, we saw debris on the road.

“He ended up in a ditch and hit a tree. A giant branch the size of a small tree had fallen on top of the car too. It was absolutely awful – we thought he’d died.”

The couple stopped on the hard shoulder and dashed back to the car, where the man was slumped, unconscious, in his seat.

“Where the car had hit the tree, the door was caved in,” said Mandy. He had a head injury and after he came to, he was very confused. Carl just kept him talking while I stayed on the phone to the ambulance.”

The man suffered ‘serious’ injuries in the crash, including broken bones.

However, it is believed that he will recover over time.

Mandy said: “He’s a very lucky boy to get out of that one. It was a horrendous crash.”

Sergeant Nikki Burt of the Poole Traffic Department, pictured right, warned motorists to take care on flooded roads.

She said: “I would urge motorists to drive according to the conditions out there on the roads.

“It might mean that your journey takes an extra 20 minutes, but that’s better than not getting there at all.”

Just two hours later, on the same stretch of road, a local man driving a blue Lexus was involved in a crash.

Police believe the driver also hit standing water before the vehicle spun out of control.

The westbound carriageway closed during the afternoon over safety fears, but reopened as motorists were warned to take ‘extreme caution’ when driving through water.