TWO brave men have been praised for pulling an injured motorist and his passenger from a wrecked car just moments after it burst into flames.

The heroes, who may be off-duty firefighters, leapt to the rescue after the four-car smash on the A355 at Coleshill, near Amersham, on Tuesday morning.

Police are now keen to trace the mystery rescuers who disappeared shortly before the arrival of the emergency services.

They say the duo's speedy and courageous action undoubtedly saved the lives of the two men in the car.

Off-duty traffic officer Keith Martin stopped at the scene of the smash on his way to work in Chesham.

PC Martin explained: "It was absolute chaos. I saw that one car was alight and phoned for an ambulance, the police and the fire brigade.

"I went up closer to the burning car and I saw a couple of guys around another guy who was lying on a grass verge. I could see he had quite a large facial injury. I spoke to the injured man's colleague but he didn't say a thing. I think he must have been in shock."

He added: "It was pitch black and the only light we had was from headlights and the burning car which was very much on fire. The ambulance arrived very shortly after that and the men were rushed into it."

Police believe the burning car, a Nissan Bluebird, was in collision with a white Renault van on the right hand bend close to the Magpie Pub.

The Nissan was thrown across the road to the opposite side of the carriageway before two other cars were in collision with the back of the van.

PC Martin, who remained at the scene to take care of those involved in the crash, spoke to bystanders who told him the crash victims had been pulled out of the blazing car by two men.

He added: "The rescuers could have been any of the people that I spoke to but I didn't have a pen and paper so I couldn't take down any names and addresses.

"I would say it was a particularly brave thing to do. As far as I am concerned they took quite a risk in going to the car."

The 27-year-old Nissan driver, from Northolt, remains in Wycombe Hospital with serious head injuries, but no-one else was injured.

A stretch of the A355 had to be closed for more than three hours on Tuesday as a result of the crash. Details on the smash and the ensuing road chaos were flashed onto the BFP website shortly after the incident

Sergeant Mark Hammond, of Amersham traffic division, said: "These blokes acted as heroes and undoubtedly saved the lives of two men. We would very much like them to contact the police as they are important witnesses to this accident."

Any witnesses should call Sgt Hammond on (01494) 736723