A MAN was airlifted to hospital following a car crash which left seven vehicles badly damaged.

The man, who was a passenger in a black Honda Civic, was airlifted to Wythenshawe Hospital by the North West Air Ambulance.

He is understood to have suffered serious injuries in the incident, which closed Hibson Road, Nelson for more than six hours.

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It is thought the Honda and a white Mercedes C63 collided with a silver Volkswagen Touran and two other cars before crashing into two parked cars. The Honda came to a stop after hitting a wall.

The other vehicles involved were a Seat Leon, a Renault Megane, a BMW 335 and an Audi Q7.

The man was initially treated at the roadside by firefighters until paramedics arrived and the decision was taken to airlift him.

Two other men in the car, whose identities have also not been released, were taken to Royal Preston Hospital by ambulance.

Police said yesterday that none of the injuries were thought to be life-threatening.

Enquiries are on-going to trace the driver of the Mercedes who made off from the scene.

PC Mark Newton of the Road Policing Unit said: “This was a major collision involving a number of vehicles and it is lucky that no one was more seriously injured. An investigation into how this collision occurred is underway and I would appeal to anyone who witnessed what happened to contact us as soon as possible.

“We are also keen to hear from anyone who may have seen any of the vehicles involved driving prior to the collision and anyone with any information should contact us on 101.”

Following the crash calls have been made for traffic calming measures to be introduced in the area.

The road is in a 30mph zone but cars are often parked along its route, which has several bends and is on a steep gradient.

Pendle Councillor Naeem Hussain Ashraf said: “It’s lucky nobody has died. That is a really dangerous bend and something needs to be done. Traffic calming measures need to be put in place because next time somebody could die.”

Pendle Council leader Cllr Mohammed Iqbal added that motorists needed to drive in an appropriate way for the road conditions and he would be interested in the results of the accident investigation into the cause of the crash.

Insp Kevin Otter, of Lancashire Police, said no arrests have been made but police ‘know who the drivers are and would be speaking to them at a later date to establish the circumstances of the crash’.

Firefighters from Nelson, police and paramedics attended the crash site at 4.10pm.

Nobody needed freeing from any of the vehicles, but residents came out of their houses to offer their help and could be seen comforting the men.

A spokeswoman from the North West Air Ambulance Service confirmed it had attended the scene and airlifted a man to Wythenshawe Hospital.

Police closed Hibson Road at the junctions with the Lomeshaye Road roundabout and the Railway Street Roundabout while accident investigation work was carried out and the vehicles were recovered.

Any witnesses to the incident can call Lancashire Police via 101.