A YOUNG driver was airlifted to hospital after being impaled on a wooden fence post in an horrific road accident.

He was flown by police helicopter to Hull Royal Infirmary, where he underwent emergency surgery to remove the post from his chest.

The incident happened late yesterday evening on the A645, about a quarter of a mile from Drax roundabout, near Selby.

A witness told police she heard a loud screeching noise and then saw headlights disappear into a ditch.

Firefighters, paramedics and a special emergency medical team from West Yorkshire rushed to the scene where they found the red Vauxhall Cavalier in a steep ditch with its bonnet resting precariously on the wooden fence.

The seriously-injured driver, who was named today as Dale Morrill, of Spencer Street, Goole, was trapped inside impaled by a wooden post which had gone through the windscreen on impact.

Selby firefighter Mark Upton said: "We had to stabilise the car first by putting a hydraulic ram in because the bonnet was resting on the fence.

"We then had to remove the passenger door using hydraulic cutting gear, and then saw through the piece of wood which was impaling the driver.

"It took us over an hour to get the young man out because we had to wait for the paramedics' instructions as they were assessing him all the time."

Mr Upton added: "The driver was conscious and was talking to the paramedics. I was amazed how calm he was."

The driver was put on a drip and the piece of wood was stabilised before the airlift.

North Yorkshire Fire Brigade press officer Terry Glover said: "The man was taken to hospital still impaled. It's better to leave the piece of wood in to ensure minimum blood loss, so it can be removed by a surgeon under controlled circumstances after X-rays have been taken."

A passing lorry driver used his mobile phone to alert the emergency services, and the A645 was closed in both directions so the helicopter could land on the road next to the crash scene.

The Vauxhall was travelling towards Drax when the accident happened, and no other vehicle is thought to have been involved.

Firefighters also had to free a motorist involved in a car crash at Lockton near Pickering today.

The incident happened when a Ford Escort was in collision with a Citroen at the Lockton junction of the A169.

The driver of the Citroen, named as Steven Green, thought to be from Haxby, had to be cut free and received "serious but not life-threatening injuries." The driver of the Escort, who has not been named, received slight leg injuries.

Both motorists were taken to Scarborough Hospital.