A COUPLE escaped with only minor injuries when their car left a busy dual carriageway and somersaulted into a tree.

The car, a white Peugeot, left the eastbound carriageway of the A64, outside The Buckles Inn, near Bilbrough.

The man and woman in the car, who are not thought to be local, were taken to hospital by ambulance but escaped serious injury.

Claire Stockwell, of Heworth, York, who was driving behind the car immediately before the accident, said she saw it veer across the carriageway, spin off the road and somersault into the grass verge.

"It all happened so quickly, I can't believe anyone got out of there alive, the entire back end was just destroyed," said Claire, 22.

"When it hit the tree I thought it was going to burst into flames and lots of people from the pub came outside to see if they could help."

The assistant manager of the pub, Andrew Johns, helped the occupants crawl out of the passenger side window.

Police are seeking witnesses to the crash, which happened at about 7.40pm on Wednesday.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on (01904) 631321.