Residents were evacuated and man had to be taken to hospital after a car ploughed into the side of a house in an early morning smash.

At around 3.45am on Thursday, a car travelling along Booth Road in Stacksteads crashed into a corner house on Plantation Street, leaving the driver trapped inside the vehicle.

Emergency services attended the scene and firefighters were able to release the man from the car before he was taken to hospital by paramedics.

Fire crews were required to remain at the property for several hours until a structural engineer arrived to assess the integrity of the building.

A spokesperson for the fire service said: "At 3:44am two fire engines from Bacup attended a road traffic collision on Booth Road, Stacksteads.

"A car had crashed into a residential property and firefighters made the scene safe, used an environmental pack for oil spillage and liaised with a structural engineer to check the property.

"One casualty was conveyed to hospital by paramedics.

"Firefighters were at the scene for around two and a half hours.

"The occupants of the house were told evacuate due to the structural damage.

"At around 6am a building engineer attended and carried out an inspection and deemed the building to be safe."

The police were also called to the incident along with the ambulance service who confirmed that one man was taken to Royal Preston Hospital.