A MAN was critically injured in a crash between his car and an empty petrol tanker yesterday evening.

The individual, who suffered a very serious head injury, was trapped inside his Mercedes Benz C-Class for 20 minutes before firefighters freed him using heavy cutting equipment.

He was anaesthetised at the scene and taken by ambulance to the major trauma centre at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham.

The collision, which happened on the northbound A449 Worcester to Kidderminster road near to the Ombersley junction at about 7.50pm, left the car sitting on the central reservation of the busy dual carriageway.

The driver of the lorry, a man estimated to be in his 50s, was not injured.

An off-duty British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) doctor was the first medical professional at the scene and was quickly backed up by an ambulance, a paramedic officer and the Medical Emergency Response Intervention Team (MERIT) trauma doctor.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival crews found the car on the central reservation with very significant intrusion into the right hand side of the car.

“The car driver, who was thought to be in his 30s, had suffered a very serious head injury.

“Ambulance staff worked with firefighters to rapidly extricate the man from the wreckage.

"He was anaesthetised at the scene before being taken on blue lights to the major trauma centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

“The lorry driver, a man estimated to be in his 50s, was uninjured and was discharged at scene.”

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service crews from Worcester, Droitwich and Stourport attended the incident alongside West Mercia Police.

The road was closed for a period of time while the carriageway was made safe.