A MAN was critically ill in hospital today after suffering serious head injuries in a car crash in Clayton-le-Moors.

Police said the 30-year-old Great Harwood man is believed to have lost control of his car in Whalley Road, near Hyndburn Bridge, at around 2.30am.

He was thrown from his Peugeot after it hit a stone wall.

The man was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary but is expected to be transferred to Royal Preston Hospital later today.

Sergeant Keith Jackson said: "The driver of the Peugeot appears to have lost control of his car as he was coming round a left hand bend and the vehicle has spun across the road.

"It collided with a stone wall and he has been thrown from the vehicle into the road.

"He has serious head injuries, believed to be life threatening."

A section of the main road was closed for several hours to allow the police to examine the scene and the vehicle to be towed away.