Line of Dutyactor Martin Compston has had a lucky escape after a HGV truck collided into a taxi he was travelling in.

The recovery truck ploughed into the passenger side of a black cab as the television detective was heading to a hotel in Greater Manchester on Thursday night.

Taxi driver Derek Burton, 71, said the actor - known to fans as DS Steve Arnott - was "very shaken" by the incident but was unhurt.

“There was a thundering bang. I thought it was a bomb. Martin screamed. We didn’t know what happened. We hadn’t seen the truck.

“It smashed into where he was sitting. Martin’s door was bashed in. It was probably doing 10mph but was so big it destroyed the cab," he told The Sun newspaper.

Mr Burton said the passenger door was bashed in but said Mr Compston was unharmed.

He appeared on BBC Breakfast the following day to promote Sunday night's season finale of Line of Duty.

It comes as Compston has signed up for a further two series of the hit BBC drama which follows the unit of AC-12 who investigate police corruption.