Rescue bid after car crashes into tree

A DRIVER was fighting for his life today after he was involved in an horrific collision which saw his car smash into a tree.

The man's black Ford Mondeo left the road between Hadleigh and Whatfield just before Whatfield village at about 8.30am today.

He suffered life threatening injuries in the crash and was trapped inside his crushed vehicle for almost an hour.

Emergency services were involved in a race against time to free him after the crash.

Firefighters from Hadleigh, Needham Market and the Princes Street fire station in Ipswich were called to the scene near Barrard's Hall.

The crews asked police to close the road when it became clear how serious the accident was. They then began the difficult task of cutting open the wrecked car to allow ambulance officers to remove him.

They were able to free the driver by 9.25am. The air ambulance had been called to the scene because of the severity of the man's injuries and once he had been removed from the car he was airlifted to hospital.

A spokesman for the Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said one of the crews which attended the accident was a specialist rescue tender which helped to cut him from the wreckage.

She said: “They used heavy cutting gear to release the man from the vehicle. They had freed him by 9.25am.”

She said the crews would remain at the scene for some time to clear the wreckage from the road.

A spokesman for the East of England Ambulance Service said the man had been unconscious when the crews were at the crash site.

It was initially unclear what the exact nature of his injuries were.

Thirteen people have died on Suffolk roads this year. Last year 47 people were killed in 40 separate accidents in Suffolk - a 30 per cent increase on 2005.

Did you see today's crash? Call The Evening Star newsdesk on 01473 324788 or e-mail starnews@eveningstar.co.uk.