A BUTCHER has spoken of his shock when he was involved in an accident which left a motorist needing to be freed from his car.

The 25-year-old man, who was trapped in his car for at least half an hour, was cut out of his vehicle by fire-fighters using specialist equipment.

He was taken to Whipps Cross University Hospital by ambulance where he was treated for pains in his arms and chest.

Andrew Shaw, owner of Shaw's Quality Butchers in Station Road, was setting off to make a delivery in his van moments before the crash on Thursday at around 4pm.

He said: “It all happened so quickly. I was turning from Richmond Road into Station Road.

“I saw a woman on the zebra crossing so I stopped then looked again at it was clear so I went and then from out of nowhere I heard a loud bang.”

Moments after the accident, he went over to see if the other motorist involved in the crash was hurt.

“I wanted to make sure he was ok. He was quickly surrounded by people. I don't know if he was concious or not or whether he was hurt.

“He was trapped in his car for about 30 minutes. I just wanted to know if he was ok but he was taken off to hospital.”

This is the first time Mr Shaw, 40, of Theydon Bois, has been involved in a serious accident.

He said: “I've had the odd bang or bump but I've been left really shaken up by it so much so I needed to take some time off work this morning. When the accident happened I just thought 'oh my God.' I'm lucky I wasn't seriously hurt.”

Police also attended the accident and traffic was diverted from Station Road along Willow Street for an hour and half.