A SCRAP engine ended up perched in a tree after being thrown off the back of a lorry as it crashed into a ditch.

The bizarre sight on the grass verge at the side of Burnley Road, Altham, astounded passing motorists who dropped their speed to look at the truck and engine.

Police said the young driver, who escaped uninjured, had lost control on the bend and was lucky to be alive.

Accrington police were called to the accident at 12.30pm yesterday and were first told the vehicle had been abandoned. A dog-handling team from Blackburn attended to search for the missing driver.

But a man claiming to be the driver then contacted police to say he had left the scene to telephone a haulage firm to remove his truck.

Passing motorist Les Smalley, of Rishton, said: "We were just driving past, saw the truck in the ditch and then the shiny fly wheel in the tree caught our attention."

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