Danny Thomas was first on scene to prevent a horrible tragedy in Hereford

Danny Thomas was returning home to Hay-on-Wye when he saw what he thought was a red rag or pillow behind the larger vehicle's front wheels on Newmarket Street.

Curious to see exactly what it was, he beeped his horn and shouted at the lorry driver before getting out of his car and taking a closer look.

The 30-year-old soon discovered that a man had become trapped between the lorry's front wheel and its axle – with the casualty's back facing the ground.

"He had his eyes closed and was breathing, and didn't seem to have broken any bones," said Mr Thomas.

"When I realised it was a person trapped, I was expecting to see a horror show."

Mr Thomas, a professional chainsaw carver, made sure the lorry did not move before explaining to queueing drivers just what had happened.

Fortunately, an ambulance was nearby in traffic and Mr Thomas managed to flag down the paramedics.

Fire crews were also soon on the scene before the man in his 50s was taken to an air ambulance waiting at Hereford FC's Edgar Street stadium fully conscious.

However, Mr Thomas said that it was only for a number of reasons that the man was flown to hospital in Birmingham alive.

"If he was wearing a darker colour, instead of red, then I would never have seen him," he added.

"I was also in the wrong lane and only looked over as I needed to get into the right hand lane to go towards Steels.

"And that's when I saw, what looked like, a red rag.

"He was really lucky because if the lights had been on green then the lorry would have gone and the road surface soon deteriorates."

Mr Thomas was unsure where the pedestrian first collided with the lorry but said the injured man's shoes were seen some "80 to 90 yards back from where the lorry had stopped".

The Hereford Times understands that the lorry driver is from Knighton and Mr Thomas felt he was blameless.

"Obviously, I didn't see it all but I think it was just a freak accident," he said. "The lorry seemed to be driven very well to me and the driver was naturally shook up."

The police said today that no one has been arrested in connection with the collision.

Many of Mr Thomas's friends have praised him for his actions, saying he was incredibly brave to look into what was a clearly disturbing scenario.

But he said any talk of him being a hero was an exaggeration.

"It was just luck of being in exactly the right place at the right time," he said.

"Plus I'm sure anyone else would have done the same."

The emergency services have not given an update today with regards to the condition of the injured man who was said to have suffered serious injuries to his abdomen, back and feet yesterday.