A 15-MONTH-OLD tot injured in a head-on crash has been allowed home from hospital but his mother was still in intensive care today.

Sharon Ely, 29, of Stuart Street, Barnoldswick, suffered serious injuries and was trapped for more than an hour after the collision with another vehicle crushed the bonnet and dashboard of her hatchback car.

She was "comfortable and stable" today.

Barnoldswick paramedic Andy Swinburn, who administered oxygen and set up a drip while firefighters battled to free her, said it was the longest he had ever seen a person trapped in a vehicle.

Ms Ely, who was in the car with her son Robert, suffered serious head, leg and abdominal injuries in the accident on Earby Road, Salterforth, just after 12.30pm on Sunday. Mr Swinburn and ambulance technician Linda Horne attended while Barnoldswick firefighters cut away the roof of the Peugeot 205 before sliding the dashboard away from the driver.

Ms Ely was then lifted on to a spinal long board and taken, along with Robert, who suffered facial injuries, to Airedale General Hospital, Steeton, near Keighley. The toddler was discharged from hospital yesterday.

The driver of the other car, a Peugeot 406, Bruce Anthony Ellison, 38, of Smith Street, Nelson, escaped uninjured.

Mr Swinburn said: "The other car had airbags fitted and both deployed almost certainly saving the driver from injury.

"The windscreen on the 205 had shattered, the bonnet was squashed and the driver was crushed by the dashboard.

"She was conscious while the firefighters tried to free her but she was in a serious condition.

"I would recommend car airbags because they do save lives."

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