Asda delivery driver hailed as a hero after East Lothian van crash

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Mark Beggs, who only started working at the Dunbar store a few weeks ago, was making his daily deliveries when a Ford Transit van travelling in front of him suddenly veered into the central reservation barrier.

All the vehicles behind it were forced to stop and Mark, 51, ran over to the driver to give assistance while fellow motorists called the emergency services.

Mark then deployed his decades of military training and kept a cool head, helping the driver out of the van before attending to his injuries with the assistance of a passing nurse.

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Mark, who'd previously spent 30 years in 2 Scots, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, retiring as a Warrant Officer, said: "The guy was in distress, hanging over his seatbelt and struggling to breathe. I assessed his injuries and I knew I had to cut his seatbelt away so I asked one of the other people beside me to go and get my bag from my van. In there I had a cardboard cutting tool which cut the seatbelt easily.

"The driver was wedged in by his seatbelt and he couldn't move or breathe so when I cut it I think adrenaline kicked in and he panicked. He got out of the vehicle as the door was missing, stumbled out on to the road and then collapsed onto the verge."

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Together with an off-duty nurse, Mark assessed the driver's injuries again and stayed with him and chatted to him until the emergency services arrived and took over. Mark then continued with his deliveries as normal.

Mark said: "I'm just glad he was okay. If he didn't have his seatbelt on then the situation could have been a lot different."

Asda Dunbar's online trading manager Paul Hewitt said: "As a store we are all very proud of Mark. Not only the way he just jumped in and calmly handled the situation, but also keeping his customers up-to-date with their deliveries as the road was closed for a time. He excelled on all bases."

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