A motorist has described the moment he was ‘seconds’ from being hit by a pensioner who was driving the wrong way down the M60.

Steve Gait, from Disley, was travelling home from a shopping trip when he saw a red Ford Fiesta hurtling towards him down the right-hand lane of the ring road.

Luckily the 65-year-old had moved into the middle lane to let another car overtake him just a few seconds before passing the Fiesta.

Dashcam footage taken from the vehicle shows the moment the fiesta whizzes past Steve at ‘40 to 50mph’ travelling anti-clockwise in the right hand lane near Cheadle.

Watch: Steve Gait talks of near-miss

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It also shows the silver car Steve had let pass him veering suddenly to avoid a potentially fatal collision.

Seconds later, the fiesta disappears out of shot, continuing in the wrong direction of one of Greater Manchester’s busiest highways.

Steve said: “I couldn’t believe it when I saw the car headed towards me. I immediately started flashing my lights and beeping my horn to try and warn him he was in danger.

Steve Gait caught amazing dashcam footage of the incident

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“I saw the driver as he went past, he had his flat cap on and was looking straight forward. I don’t think he was aware he was doing anything wrong.

“I had been in the right-hand lane but moved over to let the silver car pass, if I hadn’t I could have easily hit the fiesta head on. I am lucky to be alive.

After I spotted him I pulled over and dialled 999, I was trying to tell the police what had happened but they just kept asking me questions. I later found out he had crashed.”

Watch: Moment man drives wrong way down M60

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The shocking footage was captured on Bank Holiday Monday. Just after the recording was taken, the Ford was involved in a smash with two other vehicles. The driver, a man in his 80s, was then taken to Salford Royal hospital but his injuries were not thought to have been serious.

Steve, a photographer, added: “I was doing about 70mph and he was doing around 50mph so if we had hit the combines speed would have been about 120mph. I was lucky.”

After the incident police confirmed they had received a number of reports of the vehicle being spotted on the wrong carriageway between junctions 3 near Cheadle and 9 at Trafford Park.