A COMMUTER was seriously injured in a smash on a notorious stretch of the A59.

Police said they believed Paul Moore, 43, crashed near Sawley while trying to overtaking a farm vehicle which was turning right.

Over the past seven years there have been more than 20 crashes on this stretch of the A59, between Mill Lane and Sawley Road.

And the latest incident has prompted Ribble Valley MP Nigel Evans to call for an immediate review of the road.

But transport chiefs said their investigations found that in many of the crashes over the years it was the motorists, rather than the road, which was to blame.

Mr Moore, who lives in Ripon, North Yorkshire, and was driving to jobs" target= "_blank">work, was last night being treated in the Royal Blackburn Hospital for serious chest injuries.

Police said his injuries were not life threatening. He was cut free from his burgundy Citroen Saxo by firefighters at 6.55am yesterday.

The road was closed for three hours while investigations were carried out.

The driver of the animal feed tipper truck, which police said was trying to turn into Smithie Bridge Farm, was not injured.

Mr Evans said: “This just reinforces my point that we need a proper and thorough review of the A59. We must not wait for another person to die before they do something.

“The number of accidents that have occurred in this area is disturbing.

“Action must be taken immediately to reduce the danger drivers face on the A59.”

But County Coun Janice Hanson, cabinet member for highways, hit back and said: "We recently had a meeting with borough and county councillors from that area, and the police were also present.

"They explained all the accidents on that road and unfortunately a lot of them are not because of the road.

“They are just accidents.

"We did conclude that we could introduce some measures on the A59 to try and help though, some of those have already been introduced and the rest are being introduced shortly."

A police spokesman said that the crash was believed to have happened when Mr Moore tried to overtake the farm vehicle which was turning right.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the smash. Anyone with information can call officers on 0845 1 25 35 45 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.