CCTV footage has captured the terrifying moment a woman lost control of her car before plunging into a river.

The Volkswagen swerved to the left and knocked down a lamp post before plummeting into the water several metres below.

Witnesses rushed to the scene after the accident in the busy street in east China's Xiangshan County.

The driver was unable to escape from the car as it filled with water because of the high river wall, so a man used his jacket as a rope to help haul her to safety.

She eventually managed to grab his hand, before others then joined in and pulled her to dry land - around 20 minutes after the crash.

Witness Shao said: "The car had been in the waters for more than 10 minutes, and water rushed in.

"Several of us bent over (the wall of the river) and pulled her up."

The man who used his jacket as a rope said: "We had no other choice since she couldn't climb up herself. So I took off my clothes and pulled her up."

A crane was later used to remove the car from the water.