Miss Whiplash in river car ordeal

Lindi St Clair, pictured in 1989, was a well-known figure in the 1980s

Former brothel keeper Lindi St Clair has been rescued after being trapped upside down in her car in a river for almost 24 hours.

Ms St Clair, once known as Miss Whiplash, left the road near the village of Risbury in Herefordshire and went 15ft (4.5m) down an embankment.

The alarm was raised at about 1500 GMT on Friday and the operation to rescue the 57-year-old took nearly two hours.

She was conscious when found and has been flown to hospital.

Her condition is not known but it is believed she was suffering from hypothermia and serious multiple injuries.

Duck farm

Police said the road was "very remote" and they believed the crash had happened on Thursday afternoon.

A spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service said the car ended up on its roof in a stream and was spotted by a passer-by.

The spokesman said: "We mobilised fire crews from Leominster with specialist cutting gear that we use in (road traffic collisions)."

Fire crews were given instructions from the air ambulance to release her.

The spokesman said it appeared the woman was lucky to be alive.

Ms St Clair claimed a number of MPs and other senior public figures were among her clients in the 1980s and at one time was pursued through the courts for non-payment of income tax.

She once stood for Parliament campaigning for more liberal sex laws and later moved to Herefordshire where she is believed to have been running a duck farm.

Witnesses have been urged to contact West Mercia Police.