An Special Air Service (SAS) veteran used his battlefield training to give emergency first aid following a crash between a car and an ambulance.

The ex-military man - whose identity is restricted to his first name Dave due to sensitivities surrounding his previous role - is part of the security team at Thames Water's Walthamstow Wetlands.

The crash involved a Bentley and an ambulance near the entrance to the Thames Water fishery and nature reserve in Forest Road, Walthamstow.

The ex-military man and other members of the wetlands team stopped and directed traffic and gave first aid until the emergency services arrived.

Jacquie Davis, a former police officer and bodyguard who leads the security team at Walthamstow Wetlands, said: “Dave did all the first aid before the ambulance arrived. He was brilliant.”

A London Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 4.56pm on Wednesday, July 3, to reports of a road traffic collision on Forest Road, Walthamstow.

“We sent an ambulance crew to the scene. We assessed two people at the scene and took one of the two to hospital.”

Myland Monery, part of the Thames Water team at Walthamstow, said: “He got into the ambulance and helped the driver out - he was walking and seemed OK. It was a transport ambulance. Fortunately, no-one was in the back.

“The driver of the car then got out with blood coming out of his head. A woman and children were in the back. They seemed OK, but the woman was in shock.

“Dave got the first aid kit from the ambulance and treated the driver of the car for a head injury.”

A man has been charged with various offences in connection with the collision.