crash driver found after using life saving What3words app

A woman trapped inside her overturned car in a ditch at night was rescued after being found with a location app.

Police said the woman had no idea where she was when she crashed near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, on Friday and other drivers could not see her car.

However, she managed to phone her father in Shrewsbury. He talked her through using the What3words app to get an exact location.

North Yorkshire Police were able to get to her within four minutes of a call.

The app divides the world into 3m squares and gives each one a unique three-word address in order for people to be easily found in emergencies.

North Yorkshire roads policing unit said the woman, from Shropshire, had crashed down an embankment, about 20ft from the road.

“All that was on view was the dark underside of the car,” they said.

It is not known how long the woman was trapped.

It has been reported that the driver is ok.

The app has been used in several other cases, including:

A call handler used it to send someone to rescue a victim of sexual assault being held hostage and capture the offender

A member of the public used it to locate a remote riverside path where she had found a lost child

A taxi driver used it to locate a drunk man lying in a road

It was used to pinpoint the exact location of a road accident.