A DRIVER and passenger were lucky to be alive today after their car rolled over a wall, was ripped apart and squashed "like a baked bean can".

A passenger in the vehicle, a 23-year-old man from Haslingden whom police would not name, is today "stable" in the intensive care unit of Blackburn Infirmary,

He has undergone surgery to have his spleen removed, and has kidney damage, a punctured lung and broken ribs.

Driver Philip Haworth 36, from Haslingden, was treated for whiplash.

They were travelling in an Audi along the Grane Road, Belthorn, at 7.30pm yesterday in fog and driving rain.

The car was near the Grey Mare Inn when it was in a collision with a Cavalier driven by James Johnston, 47, from Preston, who suffered whiplash injuries.

The Audi bounced over a wall, rolled over and came to rest in a field with the back part of it completely ripped off.

Accrington paramedics Eileen Schofield and Alan Slater were the first on the scene and treated the passenger for back and chest injuries, taking him to Blackburn Infirmary.

Mr Slater said: "The car split in half and was squashed like a baked bean can.

"How anyone managed to get out alive is a miracle."

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