Couple become wedged in drainage pipe after being catapulted off their motorbike

A couple found themselves perhaps too close for comfort after apparently shooting off their motorbike and becoming stuck tight in a drainage pipe.

The pair were reportedly thrown from the vehicle after hitting a tree at speed, resulting in them being catapulted into the mouth of the tube. The force of their collision saw them wedged tight and requiring firefighters to free them.

On arrival the rescue teams were greeted with the sight of two pairs of legs sticking out of the mouth of a roadside drainage pipe in Fangzian, Hubei Province, China.

'Without immediate rescue, they would have been in trouble because of the polluted air in the tunnel and the dirty water,' said Officer Yu Chunyou.

The pipe, which reportedly measured less than 50cm in diameter, was surrounded by concrete gutter walls, meaning that firefighters were forced to dig out the silt in order to ease the couple out.

After ten minutes of frantic digging, the couple were freed and taken to hospital.