FIREFIGHTERS had to cut free a young man trapped for an hour in a wrecked car.

Paramedics administered painkillers while rescue crews worked to free the 20-year-old from the crashed BMW.

It went out of control and hit a lamppost at Loftus, east Cleveland. The road - Zetland Terrace - was closed to traffic for four hours.

Leading firefighter Ian Goodman said freeing the local man, who has not been named, had been difficult. The car was wedged between the wall and a lamppost and the engine section and car front had been pushed into the passenger compartment.

"He was in great pain," said Mr Goodman. "The car was wrapped round the lamppost. The engine compartment and front were wrapped round his legs. We had to cut that away.

"It was a difficult operation because of the angle in which the car was situated.''

A Cleveland Police spokesman said: "The vehicle failed to negotiate a slight left hand bend and collided with a wall on the near side, coming to rest between an overhead power pole and the wall. The driver was trapped for over an hour and was freed by Cleveland Fire Brigade.''

The young motorist was taken to Middlesbrough General Hospital. Cleveland Police are investigating the crash and witnesses are asked to contact the Road Policing Unit on (01642) 301552.