A CYCLIST was taken to hospital with a head injury and breathing difficulties after a collision with a car in Rawtenstall this morning.

The man, believed to be in his 50s, was involved in an incident with a yellow Nissan Micra in Burnley Road, at around 10.22am.

The car, being driven by an elderly woman, was close to the Spar petrol station when the accident happened, witnesses said.

Two ambulances and a number of police cars attended.

Police closed a stretch of the road for around half an hour, causing traffic to back up.

Eye-witness Ambia Khan, a 19-year-old student teacher who lives near the petrol station, said: “I was looking out of the window when I saw it happen.

“Then I saw the police and paramedics turn up and the cyclist was put on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance.

”The elderly lady looked like she was in shock when she was talking to a police officer after it happened.”

Another eyewitness said: “A lot of people came out to help. One guy was cradling the cyclist’s head before the paramedics came and took over.”