TWO elderly men had to be cut free from their car by firefighters following a rush-hour crash.

Commuters were caught up in the aftermath of the crash at the junction of Bradford Street and Bury New Road.

The two men, in their 70s, were taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital with chest and leg pains after yesterday’s collision, which happened at 8.30am.

The driver and passengers in the other car — Johnny Steven, aged 41, son Justin, aged 12, and daughter Gemma, aged five, received minor injuries.

Mr Steven, a restaurant worker, was taking his children to school when his green Vauxhall Astra collided with the red Nissan Qashqai.

He said: “I’m in shock really.

I’m very shaken and I think I will go to hospital to get my leg checked. I was worried about my children being in the car, my daughter was really very upset.”

The restaurant worker from Bradford Street said he had driven the same route every day for years and had never had an accident.

Justin, who was sitting in the front seat, said: “I’ve never been in a crash before and it was quite frightening.”

Firefighters from Bolton Central were called to the scene to cut free the pensioners from their car after paramedics became concerned about their condition.

The road was not closed while the men were cut out of the car.

Mick Dargan, a trauma technician from the fire station, sat inside the car with the men while they were being cut free.

He said: “We removed the roof and placed them on long boardd.”

At the time of the crash, the men had been travelling to Bury Market