Olympic cycling hero Sir Chris Hoy had to be rescued from the roadside after his car swerved on black ice and ploughed into a snow bank.

The six-times gold medallist was driving along the Greenhillstairs road, Moffat, Dumfries and Galloway, he hit the patch of black ice.

Another driver helped the 40-year-old out by towing him from the snow bank and back onto the road before a passing gritter from the council took Hoy into Moffat so he could arrange to recover the car.

He later tweeted: "Thanks to the kind gent who towed my car out of a snow bank today after I hit black ice.

"Thankfully no harm to me or car but be careful folks!"

A post on Dumfries and Galloway Council's Facebook page added: "We believe all our gritter drivers are heroes, out in all conditions, day and night.

"We are pleased to hear that in this case our Gritter driver, Stevie, went beyond his usual duties and picked up Sir Chris Hoy from the side of the road at Greenhill Stairs after his car went off the road. Stevie took him back to Moffat to arrange recovery of his vehicle.

"Due to insurance regulations we could not assist with the recovery of Sir Chris's vehicle ourselves, but we wish him well and a safe journey home."

Several crashes have been reported amid treacherous driving conditions as an Arctic blast and "thundersnow" hits Scotland.