A STUDENT at Blackburn College is in a critical condition after she and her sister were in a serious road accident.

Hannah Flynn, 20, suffered head injuries after the Ford Ka she and her sister Jessica, 24, were travelling in collided with a Peugeot 407 on Friday in Whalley.

The driver of Peugeot, a 37-year-old man from Clitheroe, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving and bailed while police investigate.

Tom Riding, 21, a close friend of the sisters, described them as ‘inseparable’.

Tom, who works with the women at Spar in Whalley, said: “Everyone’s seen the glass on the road and half of the village has been coming into the shop and asking how they are getting on.

“They are really popular and are the sweetest and nicest girls I’ve ever known. Everybody is so worried about Hannah.”

Jessica, who was driving the Ford Ka back from the Barnoldswick branch of Spar where she and Hannah had been working, had less serious injuries and was released from hospital.

The university graduate, who has recently got engaged, was at her sister’s bedside with their parents Barbara and Keith over the weekend.

Tom, of Sydney Avenue, just off Accrington Road, said the road is notoriously dangerous.

The former St Mary’s College student said: “You see people going really fast down there. You hear of and see near misses quite a lot. Jessica is a really sensible driver. I’ve never known her to speed or be reckless.”

Coun Joyce Holgate MBE, who represents Whalley, is the grandmother of Hannah’s boyfriend Roy Dent, 23. She said: “I’m furious something hasn’t been done about the traffic lights at the junction on Accrington Road. People speed down there to get through the lights before they turn red and smash into other drivers. There have been so many crashes there. I will be speaking to the county council to do something about it.”

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened at the junction of Springwood Picnic Site at around 4.30pm on Friday, to call them on 101.