Video: Watch a motorist narrowly avoid a driver travelling the wrong way down the motorway

The 73-year-old man travelled for nearly eight miles in the wrong direction

The 73-year-old man travelled for nearly eight miles in the wrong direction. (Newsflare.com)

Dashcam footage reveals the frightening moment a driver had to swerve out of the way on the motorway when he noticed a car was travelling in the wrong direction.

Paul Gee's camera captured the heart-stopping moment while he was driving along the A23 in Sussex on Monday.

The video shows Gee moving into the fast lane of the motorway as he overtakes a white van but is then suddenly forced to swerve back into the left-hand lane when he notices a silver BMW driving towards him.

The BMW was driving on the wrong side of the dual carriageway during rush-hour traffic.

Amazingly, police revealed later that the driver had been driving for nearly eight miles in the wrong direction before he was brought to a hault. The driver was a 73-year-old man from West Sussex.

Police said that the man was being assessed by health workers and that the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) had been informed of the incident.

Video courtesy of Newsflare.com