A pensioner who reportedly drove her car into a North Yorkshire river was rescued after a nearby good Samaritan jumped into action.

A woman in her 90s was saved by a passerby after driving her Nissan Micra into the River Leven at around 3pm in Stokesley yesterday (June 29).

James Arrol, who was in the area while doing his shop, described the scene after a man jumped into the river to rescue the woman as the car headed towards a low bridge.

He said: "I was just coming over the bridge at the rear of the High Street in Stokesley, and I noticed there was a car in the water and a gentleman had jumped into the stream to stop the car.

"She was headed towards the bridge, she had drove into the river.

"Luckily, [he] was walking by and stopped a potential serious accident, because the bridge would have been at windscreen level.

"He stopped a much more serious accident happening. It would have taken her windscreen out and it could have been catastrophic.

"The car only stopped probably about 3 or 4 metres from the bridge.

"The gentleman stayed with the lady in the river until the fire brigade arrived."

He said emergency services arrived around 15 minutes later, with North Yorkshire Police, the ambulance service, an air ambulance, and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue service all present.

Mr Arrol praised the man as a "good Samaritan" and said many in the area thanked him for his efforts.

He said the drop between into the river was about four feet, with the water reaching knee height.