A dramatic video has emerged capturing the moment a driver was winched to safety after his car became submerged in the River Wear in County Durham, UK on Tuesday night.

The footage was captured by Rob Plews who spotted the Land Rover in the river shortly before 7pm and immediately called the emergency services.

"The fire brigade took about 20 minutes to arrive then the rescue teams, it was a joint operation" he later wrote online.

Fire-fighters can be heard yelling instructions and can be seen throwing a rope to the driver who was trapped in the car while the swollen river raged around his vehicle.

The accident happened during severe weather as heavy rain and strong winds of up to 80mph hit parts of the UK overnight.

A dramatic video has emerged capturing the moment a driver was winched to safety after his car became submerged in the River Wear in County Durham, UK on Tuesday night.

The footage was captured by Rob Plews who spotted the Land Rover in the river shortly before 7pm and immediately called the emergency services.

"The fire brigade took about 20 minutes to arrive then the rescue teams, it was a joint operation" he later wrote online.

Fire-fighters can be heard yelling instructions and can be seen throwing a rope to the driver who was trapped in the car while the swollen river raged around his vehicle.

The accident happened during severe weather as heavy rain and strong winds of up to 80mph hit parts of the UK overnight.