A WOMAN has told of her shock after seeing a car avoid a head-on collision by seconds.

Dashcam footage from a car in which Lou Atkinson was travelling captures an incident that will make viewers shudder.

It records a few seconds in which the car she was following suddenly veers across a Herefordshire road into the opposite lane, missing another car by moments.

The car then violently hits the verge, raising a cloud of dust before coming to a halt.

Fortunately, its occupants were unhurt.

Ms Atkinson said "It was very frightening as we expected the worse, thinking the car might flip or hit another oncoming car. We were very relieved when it stopped."

The incident happened on the A417 road east of Hampton Court Castle.

Ms Atkinson, of Bobblestock, was a passenger in a car being driven by her friend.

She said the dashcam video was from Wednesday, and she has since corrected the date stamp on the camera.

"As you can see it was very frightening, and just missed the blue car by seconds."

She and her friend stopped to check on the occupants of the driver who had swerved.

"Thankfully, no one was hurt, just shaken. The driver had taken poorly and blacked out for a while. His wife drove him straight to the doctors. They both were OK."

The near miss comes after a dark period for accidents on Herefordshire roads.

A motorcyclist and his pillion passenger were killed after coming off their bike in a crash with a tractor on the A465 near Locks Garage, Allensmore, on Sunday.

A lorry driver was killed in a crash that closed the main road between Bromyard and Worcester on Monday. That tragedy brought a call for a review of safety on the A44.

And two men in a vintage Model A Ford were killed in a crash with an ambulance on the A49 near Ross-on-Wye on August 25.