A HAVE-a-go hero who is afraid of heights risked his life to help a stranded motorist whose car was left dangling over a cliff edge.

On Sunday morning, Dan Timms, a 37-year-old security guard from Oakhurst, was travelling across North Devon to Minehead with girlfriend Kirsty when he came across the vehicle on a steep verge overlooking the sea.

The vehicle was around 150m from the A39 and at first Dan could not make out what had happened.

“I couldn’t believe it,” said Dan. “It was a sheer drop. At first I thought it was a piece of farming equipment. But I could see the smashed fence, and the closer I got the worse it started to look.”

Dan was worried the vehicle could tumble into the sea at any moment. Without any thought for his own safety, Dan leapt from his car and rushed towards the stranded driver.

“I knocked on the window and the man wasn’t in a great place,” he said.

“I managed to stop another car and the driver got out to help.”

Dan described the stricken vehicle as being held in place by an invisible elastic band, which could have snapped at any moment.

He said: “I could see the waves crashing on the rocks below. It was pretty scary and I’ve always been afraid of heights.

“I asked the driver, who was in his 60s if he was all right – he was holding a picture of his granddaughter.

“I remember thinking that if he had gone into that sea he would have been a gonner. And I knew that if I got it wrong I would have gone too.

“It was unbelievable. It felt like something out of a movie afterwards.”

Somehow, the heroes managed to get the man out of the car and back up the embankment just in time for emergency crews to arrive.

Dan said: “Within minutes the emergency services were there and we started to help the chap up the embankment to safety.

“The hill doesn’t look very steep but it felt almost like a sheer drop.

“When we got the chap to the top of the embankment we all breathed a sigh of relief.”

Dan described the heartwarming moment that the small company of brave rescuers shared with the poor man.

“When we knew we were safe we all had a group hug - strangers who had never met before,” he said.

“It was incredible to see complete strangers spring into action to save this man. We all breathed a huge sigh of relief.”

Afterwards, Dan gave a statement to the police and he and Kirsty continued on their journey, the remainder of which was somewhat less dramatic.

“I have never experienced anything like that before,” said Dan. “Instinct just took over.”

Though it has not been confirmed, Dan suspected theman may have been affected by a few mental health issues. Having suffered the same in the past, Dan advised anybody else who may have problems to contact mental health charity SANE on 020 3805 1790.