THE North West Air Ambulance service today stepped up its summer campaign urging motorists to slow down.

The move came after a motorcyclist was flown to hospital after his bike collided with a tractor and trailer on a narrow country lane.

The 49-year-old man from Darwen came off his bike in the collision on Friday and suffered what is thought to be minor injuries to his back.

The region's emergency helicopter was scrambled from its base .

It was able to land just yards from the scene of the accident, on the Sawley to Settle road near Clitheroe.

Lancashire Police and a land ambulance crew were already at the scene.

The patient was flown by air ambulance to hospital to the Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

The flight took just eight minutes, a journey which would have taken around 40 minutes by road.

The accident came a fortnight after the North West Air Ambulance launched its Slow Down For Summer campaign.

It is designed to promote the risks of using country lanes.

Staff at the Air Ambulance are highlighting the latest smash and the motorcyclist's lucky escape to push home their message.

The campaign was originally launched after air ambulance staff realised what a recipe for accidents rural roads could be at this time of year.

With the countryside popular for both bikers and daytrippers, motorists are being urged to remember that farmers are often working round the clock with heavy machinery.