A TAXI driver suffered suspected chest injuries after his vehicle careered into a ditch in Leigh.

The 38-year-old man, who was driving a Ford Sierra, told emergency services that a Transit van had travelled around a bend on the wrong side of the road and that he had swerved to avoid it.

Firefighters on their way to another call spotted a crowd of people around the car but because no one flagged them down, they continued travelling.

When the other call was found to be a hoax, they returned to the scene of the accident, on Slag Lane, and gave the man first aid and oxygen.

A fire brigade spokesman said: "This shows the dangers of malicious calls. While we dealing with a hoax we could have been helping somebody."

The man was taken to Wigan Royal Infirmary.