A MOTORIST was pulled to safety by police just before their car set on fire on Monday night.

Durham road policing officers were called to the serious accident on the A181 at Wingate, near Peterlee.

On arrival they found a car had overturned and the driver was trapped inside.

Officers pulled the motorist out of the wreckage shortly before the vehicle set on fire.

The incident was captured by a film crew from Channel 5's Police Interceptors series.