A 21-YEAR-OLD Lydney driver said he's lucky to be alive after escaping a shocking car accident with a broken back.

Sam Smith was travelling along Blakeney Straits towards Cinderford on Saturday morning at 6am when the front tyre of his Vauxhall Astra came off the road slightly. He lost control of his car and drove it into a tree before flipping it onto its roof.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he told the Review: "I was travelling reasonably fast as I was running late for work. The car was a wreck; the back wheel snapped clean straight off along with the front one. I called an ambulance first but then I lost signal so I tried calling my girlfriend.

"I was on my own for about 10-15 minutes before somebody drove past and called them. The doctors said I was very lucky. It was terrifying I can't believe I survived with just a broken back.

"I am still in hospital now. I have fractured a vertebra in my back and was very close to being paralysed. I am waiting on a spinal consultant to tell me if I can get away with wearing a back brace or if I need to have surgery."