BRAVE York residents may have saved the life of a teenager trapped in his blazing car today.

The householders have earned official praise for the rescue in which they put their own lives at risk, braving a possible explosion to put out the fire.

The residents at The Village, Wigginton, rushed from their homes in the early hours when a red Vauxhall Corsa crashed into a wall close to the village's Recreational Hall, and burst into flames.

The driver, a man thought to be in his late teens, was trapped in the vehicle as the flames spread from under the bonnet.

The fire was put out by a member of the public using a dry powder fire extinguisher by the time the fire fighters arrived on the scene. Crews were then able to release the man from the vehicle.

A female passenger in the car, also thought to be aged in her late teens, was thrown from the vehicle by the impact. Both were taken to York Hospital with serious injuries. Two others were also taken to hospital and a total of six were involved in the accident.

Sergeant Nicola Lamb praised the quick-thinking members of the public for saving the young man's life.

She said: "My understanding is that if they hadn't put the fire out, it's possible that the man could have burned to death at the scene."

The accident happened when the Corsa collided with a blue Ford Escort at 2.50am today as they were both travelling towards Haxby.

The Escort car spun around and came to rest 65 metres away from the Corsa, lodged in the Wigginton village sign.

Sgt Lamb said the Corsa had previously been travelling on the B1363 York to Helmsley road and she appealed for witnesses to telephone 01904 631321.

Updated: 10:03 Saturday, September 20, 2003