A TEAM of car breakers turned lifesavers when they rescued a man who was almost crushed to death by his own car.

Quick-thinking Kale Hopkins, Giley Brown, Stuart Noon and Martin Jackson lifted the Citroen Xantia off Jeffrey Benson after his jack collapsed while he was carrying out repairs.

The grateful 48-year-old, from Wilton, has now nominated the four men in the People Awards - a Salisbury Journal-backed scheme that recognises the bravery and actions of local heroes.

The drama happened at Richard Noon Car Breakers, at Lopcombe Corner, when Mr Benson was trying to fit a part to his car.

"It was all my fault," he said. "I only jacked up the car on one side and, when the suspension came down, the jack pinged out and the whole car came down on top of me.

"I thought that was it - I was being crushed to death, and I was told afterwards that if I'd been under there for another two minutes, I wouldn't be here today."

Mr Noon watched in horror as the car fell and immediately alerted his colleagues.

"We were all on different parts of the site, but when we heard Stuart shouting that someone was trapped under a car, we ran," said Mr Jackson.

"I tried to get a jack under the car but it was taking too long and we thought the quickest way would be to lift the car off him."

The four men managed to pick up the back end of the one-tonne car and move it away from the unconscious Mr Benson. "Because the suspension on the Citroen sinks right down, there were only a few inches of clearance off the ground," said Mr Jackson.

"We knew we had to get the car off him straight away - your instinct just takes over and you do what you have to.

"We are used to working together as a team and we managed to lift the car and move it forwards to free him."

While the car breakers waited anxiously for the ambulance to arrive, they erected a screen to keep Mr Benson out of the scorching sun and put their first aid training to good use.

Mr Benson was taken to Salisbury District Hospital suffering from crush injuries, severe bruising and burns on his face, hands and neck, which had come into contact with the hot exhaust.

"I was pretty uncomfortable for some time but I owe my life to those guys," said Mr Benson, who is making a good recovery after the accident, which happened earlier this summer.

"That's why I've decided to nominate them for the People Awards, because I think action like that should be rewarded.

"I know I'm lucky to be alive and it's all thanks to them.

"I made a stupid mistake - I decided to work on my car there and I only used one jack, when it should have been two.

"I suppose you always think that something like that won't happen to you, but it does."

Mr Jackson added: "Repairs should always be carried out by a mechanic or a competent person if they are done at home.

"I'm just glad there was something we could do before it was too late."