A disabled Wellington Heath man, a Paralympics judo champion, has praised the emergency services for getting him out of an overturned car on the A417 near Staunton.

At the height of the drama, four fire engines, including a crew from Ledbury, were on the scene, after Simon Shorrick's Land Rover Discovery turned over on a slippery grass verge and slid 20 metres on its roof.

It was the terrifying conclusion to a Christmas shopping trip to Cheltenham on Sunday afternoon.

Gloucester police are currently treating the matter as a one-vehicle incident.

But Mr Shorrick is blaming the accident on the driver of a white van overtaking from the opposite direction.

He said: "It was in the middle of the road and I tried to avoid it, pulling onto a grass verge but losing control on the wet grass."

The road was closed for almost two hours, until 5pm, until the car was recovered and the highway made passable again. The Land Rover Discovery was seriously damaged.

As his car came to a standstill, Mr Shorrick smelt smoke and had the presence of mind to turn the engine off and use a hands-free mobile phone to dial the police, fire and ambulance services.

He said: "I was trapped on the driver's side. The car was partially crushed. My first concern was that my wife Ann was OK.

"Now I just want to express my appreciation to all concerned that we are both OK, apart from a few bruises."

Mr Shorrick has special praise for members of the public who were quickly at the scene to help direct traffic away from the accident until the police arrived.

Mrs Shorrick was able to get out of the vehicle but her husband, who has leg supports, found himself stuck.

Firecrews and paramedics managed to ease him out of the tailgate of his vehicle.

Mr Shorrick was put in a neckbrace and taken as a precaution to Gloucester Royal Hospital. He was discharged the same day.

Mr Shorrick usually makes the news for other reasons. In 1996, he was member of the UK Paralympics judo squad at Atlanta in Georgia, USA, which came home with a team gold medal and two bronzes.