NEWCASTLE United striker Albert Luque, 28, saw his £80,000 Porsche Cayenne wrecked by a tipper truck as he stopped at the roadside to examine a tyre.

Witness Angela Wormald, 23, said: "The driver of the lorry and the 4x4 were walking towards each other looking dazed.

"It looked as though the front passenger side of the truck had hit the back driver's side of the Porsche.

"The truck had stopped about 300 yards down the road and the drivers were walking to meet each other."

The accident happened just after 9.15am today at Woolsington, near Newcastle, as Luque was driving to meet team-mates at the city's airport ahead of a Uefa clash with Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.

Police said no one was hurt in the collision which is understood to have happened when Luque stopped to check a puncture.

He was out of his car when his silver 4x4 was struck.

The Spanish striker was left to catch an alternative flight to meet up with the squad.

For full story see tomorrow's Northern Echo.