A COUPLE whose car became stuck in a snowdrift told a firefighter who came to their rescue "it was like Siberia".

The pair, believed to be in their 50s, were travelling with a younger woman and a dog on a link road between Inkerman and Cornsay Colliery, near Tow Law, County Durham, at around 3.15pm on Friday.

All of a sudden winds whipped up the snow until it was up around the windows of their Toyota Rav4.

A second driver, coming up behind, was also caught up in the incident.

One of the party called the police who then referred the matter to the fire brigade, an officer coming to the rescue in a 4x4.

A spokeswoman for Durham and Darlington fire and rescue said tonight: "The people had been out for their lunch and were making their way home towards Durham.

"The conditions worsened rapidly. With the snow blowing in and the amount that was coming down, the road became impassable and the snow quickly got up to the level of the windows. It was very deep. They said it was like Siberia."

An appliance from Crook was sent, along with the off road vehicle.

"The Land Rover got to the incident and managed to rescue the people and get them to the A68 and safety and took them home," the spokeswoman said.

"They were absolutely over the moon (to see their rescuer). They were so relieved because they had been really frightened. They said they had never seen anything like it, the weather changing so quickly."

The spokeswoman urged people to watch the weather forecast and to only make journeys that were absolutely necessary.

Were you the ones rescued by the fire brigade and would you like express your thanks? Call the newsdesk on 01325-50565 or email newsdesk@nne.co.uk