THE brother of a 22-year-old man seriously injured in a head-on collision today said: "It's a miracle that he's alive."

The air ambulance, paramedics, fire crews and police were called to the accident and three people were taken to hospital just after 11am on Saturday.

The accident, in Burnley Road, near to the Ram Inn, Cliviger, caused Traffic chaos on the roads as police blocked off the road or more than three hours to conduct accident investigations.

Firefighters cut Waseem Afzal free from his mangled vehicle.

Traffic officers said the accident involved a high powered Subaru Impreza driven by Mr Afzal, 22, of Camden Street, Nelson, and a Renault Megan, driven by John Horsfall, 49, of Todmorden.

Mr Afzal was taken to Burnley General Hospital with suffering pelvic injuries and cuts and bruising to his head and arms.

Mr Horsfall and his wife, Jane, 48, were also taken to Burnley General Hospital for treatment to minor injuries.

Waseem's family have been keeping a bedside vigil at the hospital.

His brother, Rajah Ali, 25, also of Camden Street, said: "It was touch and go at first because his injuries were very serious.

"He has started to come round and has woken up, although he is very disoriented and doesn't know where he is.

"It's a miracle that he survived. His car is a real mess, it's in total bits because he had to be cut free.

"We are hoping he will be able to come home in the next few days -- he's been very lucky."

Station Officer John Davies, of Burnley Fire and Rescue said: "An engine from Burnley, the incident support unit and an engine from Todmorden attended the accident.

"We were at the scene for about an hour because we had to remove the roof and the side door of the Subaru because the man was trapped inside the car."

Police are appealing for any witnesses to contact them on 01282 425001.