TWO Minehead men who battled to save a party-loving teenager from a mangled car wreck have spoken about their courageous rescue attempt.

Simon Curtis, 39, and son Dean Gammon, 21, were driving home from a friend’s birthday celebration in Carhampton last Tuesday when they drove up to the horror scene in Blue Anchor at about 11.45pm.

Five holidaymakers had been travelling in the Rover 406 when it came off the road near the entrance to Woods Lane.

The driver and two female passengers escaped with minor injuries and the front-seat passenger suffered a broken leg.

A rear-seat passenger Mikey Dyer, 18, from Salisbury, was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Simon and Dean, unaware of the teenager’s condition, ripped off one of the jammed doors and dragged him out.

Unable to find a pulse, Simon gave him mouth-to-mouth while an off-duty police officer performed chest compressions.

Paramedics pronounced Mikey dead shortly after midnight.

Dean said: “I was stood there holding Mikey’s 16-year-old girlfriend in my arms. I was telling her everything was going to be okay. What else could I say?

“I was thinking of the nights I don’t phone my dad and tell him where I am while he’s sat there worrying about me, and how the lad’s family was going to get a call to say their son had died.”

Simon said: “I did a first-aid course about seven years ago and it just came back to me. The course is quite light-hearted but it’s amazing what you learn. It’s just such a shame we couldn’t save him.

“It’s an absolute waste of an 18-year-old’s life. He didn’t deserve that.”

On a social networking site for club enthusiasts, Mikey’s profile said he “loved raving” and nights out in the Westcountry.

One person paid tribute to Mikey on the County Gazette’s website.

She wrote: “RIP Mikey Dyer, Salisbury has lost one great soul! You will never be forgotten. Sleep tight xxx.”

The driver of the car, a man in his 30s, was arrested shortly after the incident on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

He was due to appear at Taunton Magistrates Court this morning (Thursday).