A woman flipped a car onto its roof after hitting a telegraph pole during a driving lesson.

Firefighters cut her and her female instructor free from the Ford Focus shortly after 4.20pm yesterday.

Crew manager Liam Barker, of Hyndburn Fire Station, described the rescue on a section of Haslingden Old Road, Oswaldtwistle, as intensive.

He said: "We used what we call the oyster technique to get the two women who were in their 20s out. We cut the back of the car away before opening the car like a clam shell so we could lower them on to long boards to get them out from their upside down positions."

He added: "It was an intensive one hour rescue process involving around 10 firefighters. They had seatbelts on before the car flipped. If they didn't it could have been different. It's a very rare rescue technique."

The pair were taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital but escaped with minor injuries.

Police said no other car was involved in the smash but the road was closed for two hours on Monday, January 2.

BT and the council were both informed of the accident, which happened near Ramsclough Farm, after the telegraph pole had been hit.