A motorist and his sheepdog had a brush with death when their car careered over a 220ft cliff.

The driver was thrown clear of his Vauxhall Frontera 4x4 as it somersaulted down the cliff and smashed into pieces this morning.

The 42-year-old man ended up buried in undergrowth with both his legs broken. Unable to move, he cried out for help.

MAngled: The wreckage of the Vauxhall Frontera

Luckily, his shouts were heard by the crew of a yacht moored in a bay at Chapman's Pool, near Swanage, Dorset.

Coastguard rescue teams located him by helicopter and winched him to safety.

He is having surgery on his legs and being treated for severe cuts to his face.

The sheepdog was also thrown clear. Astonishingly, it was uninjured and was able to walk up the cliff to a farm where it was found cowering under a table in shock.

A coastguard spokesman said it was a riddle how the motorist drove off the cliff, adding: 'The car went across two fields and a fence to reach the edge.'

Police were not treating the incident as suspicious.

Cliff drama: The scene at Chapman's Pool, where driver and dog were thrown clear of the vehicle (circled)