A DAD who crashed his car after suffering a seizure has appealed for a mystery hero who helped rescue him to come forward.

Chris Parkinson, 54, said the woman could have saved his life after she smashed a window to help get him out.

Mr Parkinson, who lives in Brierfield, had decided to go shopping at Burnley's Tesco store after leaving work in Accrington.

But as he passed the petrol station, he collapsed at the wheel of his BMW which crashed into a wall.

He cannot remember what happened after that apart from waking up in an ambulance surrounded by paramedics.

Mr Parkinson said: “Paramedics told me I had been having a seizure for 20 to 25 minutes.

“A lady had to break into my car to get me out.

“She’d gone by the time I got out but I’m really, really pleased because if she hadn’t found me I could have died.

“I’m really grateful to her and I’d like to thank her.”

Mr Parkinson, who has two grown-up children Becky and Andrew, said he was lucky it didn't happen as he was driving home on the M65.

He said: “I was coming back from work and I suddenly decided to go into Tesco to get some things.

“I’m really pleased that I did or I would have been on the motorway when it happened.

“I’d left work at 5pm so it started around 5.15pm or 5.20pm. I’d driven from Accrington along the motorway and turned into Tesco car park.

“The last thing I remember is everything going flashing before my eyes. The next thing was waking up in the ambulance.”

The doors of Mr Parkinson’s BMW were locked from the inside, so the woman smashed his window to rescue him.

Mr Parkinson is currently in a wheelchair following the accident and has been told not to drive for 12 months.

He fears he may have torn muscles in his back while he was fitting and is still in a lot of pain. But he believes his injuries could have been much worse if the woman had not found him.

Mr Parkinson said he was unsure whether it was the woman who called emergency services, but that police and ambulance personel were on the scene when he came round.

And he said he would like the woman to come forward so that he can thank her personally for her help.

He said: “I’d like her to come forward so I can thank her.”