Firefighters had to cut the driver free from the Subaru Impreza after he became trapped inside the vehicle on Garstang Road East near the Singleton crossing.

A piece of wood which gone through the engine missed the man by just 12 inches.

Police and ambulance were also called to the scene just after 7.30pm yesterday.

The man, thought to be in his 40s, was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital suffering from spinal injuries and with cuts to his head and legs.

Crew manager Andrew Jones, from Blackpool fire station, said: "He's very lucky. The car has skidded on ice, hit a kerb and got impaled on a tree six feet up.

"It's then fallen sideways and ended up in a hedge. It probably travelled about 20 yards.

"The man was trapped. A massive piece of wood had gone through the engine block and missed him by about 12 inches. We had to cut the roof off to get the man out and he was placed on a spinal board.

"He was conscious but in quite a bit of pain."