This was the dramatic scene in a picturesque Norfolk village after a pensioner ended up trapped in his car in a duck-pond.

A 78-year-old man walked away virtually unscathed after his car landed on its side in eight inches of water at Salthouse pond, felling a nearby telegraph pole.

The pond is a popular stop-off point for tourists and locals, who often stop to feed the ducks while wending their way along the A149.

The incident, which happened on Tuesday at about 12.45pm, saw police, fire and ambulance staff rush to the scene and cordon off the coast road.

Fire crews from Sheringham and Holt freed the driver, who had a cut to his head but was able to go home with relatives. The crews removed the windscreen of the car to rescue the man, who had managed to scramble out of his seat and into an area of the car that was out of the water.

Eyewitness David White from Luton, who took the photograph, said: 'It was quite a dramatic scene. The car had flipped onto its side and was obviously a write-off.

'I understand the driver had a very lucky escape. He was trapped inside but walked away once he had been freed. He only had a scratch on his forehead. The worst part was that he got wet. The amazing thing was that the car's hazard warning lights were on the whole time.

'He'd written off one of the telegraph poles and the cable was dangling low on the road so they stopped the traffic both ways.'

Mr White and his wife Wendy were visiting friends at Blakeney and were out birdwatching when they came across the scene.

He said the car was attached by a chain to a tractor, which then pulled the car out of the pond.