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.