A HELICOPTER ambulance airlifted an injured driver to hospital after part of a lorry landed on top of his car.

The accident happened near to the Greyhound pub on the East Lancashire Road at Leigh yesterday at around 1pm. A bulk container on the back of an articulated lorry is believed to have become detached and hit the man's car.

The 45-year-old from Billinge, near St Helens, was freed by fire crews and was taken to Wythenshawe Hospital by the North West Air Ambulance.

The Liverpool bound carriageway of the A580 was closed for an hour after the accident while a mobile crane, caught in the resulting traffic hold-up, was manoeuvred into position and lifted the container clear of the roadway.