TWO people had to be freed from their car after it left the carriageway and plunged 40 metres down an embankment on the A30 near Okehampton on Sunday afternoon.

The accident happened on the westbound carriageway between Sourton and Stowford Cross just before 4pm.

Fire engines from Hatherleigh and Okehampton rushed to the scene along with the heavy rescue vehicle from fire service HQ at Middlemoor, Exeter.

They used power rescue tools, lines, tools and vehicle stabilisation equipment to reach the vehicle, which was in a hard-to-reach spot down a wooden embankment. The rescue mission took nearly two hours The occupants, one adult and one child, were eventually released and transported by ambulance to hospital as a precautionary measure.