An ambulance swerved out of the path of a careless driver doing a u-turn and crashed into a tree.

The emergency vehicle was racing to the scene of an accident in Samut Prakan, Thailand last Sunday (02/02) afternoon.

CCTV footage from the street shows how most drivers noticed the flashing lights and sirens then cleared the path - but a minivan driver attempted to continue his u-turn.

The quick-thinking ambulance driver swerved to avoid a collision, only to mount the pavement and hit a row of trees.

The careless van driver fled the accident but was dragged back by a motorist who gave chase.

The ambulance driver told local media that he was relieved to have avoided a more serious accident.

He said: "I was driving in the fast lane and approaching the u-turn point when I saw the van carelessly turning across the road.

"I quickly steered the wheel away avoid a big crash and simultaneously braked very strongly. If I hadn't slammed on the breaks, the ambulance would have hit the wall."

Police arrived at the scene to investigate the accident and said that the van drive should have waited for the ambulance to pass before making his u-turn.

Police Colonel Chainarong Sompror said: "The van should not have pulled out so quickly like that because ambulance was on the way to collect the injured person. The siren was open and other people noticed and moved out of the way.

"We will interview the driver again, test their blood alcohol levels and analyse the CCTV footage before we can decide on the charge."