Comedian involved in motorway crash after city gig

Buy photos » Lucky escape - Comedian Phil Cool was involved in a serious motorway collision after his show in Worcester. (s)

A FORMER TV funnyman narrowly escaped serious injury after being involved in a motorway pile-up while driving home from a gig at the Swan Theatre in Worcester.

Comedian and impressionist Phil Cool had finished his performance at the theatre on Thursday night (March 8) and was driving back home on the M6 when his car smashed into debris just south of Knutsford Services.

Mr Cool, who enjoyed huge television success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, was travelling behind a BP petrol tanker which suddenly had a blow out and propelled debris right across the carriageway.

The 64-year-old had no time to swerve and ploughed into the shredded wreckage along with about dozen other cars.

Although unhurt, the comedian famous for his rubber face was badly shaken and his car is understood to have been written-off.

Mr Cool, who had a quadruple heart-bypass operation last April, said: "I was happily singing Hey Jude, travelling at 70, when out of nowhere there was this chunk of rubber right in front of me.

"I had no time to think but utter an expletive and the next thing I knew, I was on the hard shoulder. It was a miracle I was ok."

Mr Cool was one of television's most celebrated comedians in the Eighties and Nineties with award-winning series including Cool it and Cool Head on BBC and ITV.

Lorna Phillips, marketing manager for the theatre, said: "His show went really well and everyone had a great time. We were really shocked to hear what happened and are just relieved to hear he's ok. He was very lucky by the sounds of it."