A car driver was fighting for his life today after a freak road accident in Wolverhampton.

The unnamed 27-year-old was hit on the head by a rod that smashed through the windscreen of his car after bouncing off the road.

The piece of metal, understood to be 18 inches long, four inches wide and one-and-a-half inches deep, is thought to have either fallen from the back of a lorry, or to have been kicked up into path of the VW Golf by the lorry.

Amazingly the injured driver managed to bring his year-old blue VW car to a standstill without hitting anything else in Wergs Road, Tettenhall.

The front seat passenger watched helplessly as the driver stuggled to avoid the flying metal rod on the 40mph road at 3.15pm yesterday. It smashed into his face near an eye.

The man was airlifted to Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, after the accident, which forced the closure of Wergs Road between its junctions with Wrottesley Park Road and Yew Tree Lane for several hours.

West Midlands Police spokeswoman Catherine Preece said today: “Investigations continue into this incident, which was caused by a piece of metal hitting the windscreen.”

Anybody with information is asked to contact Bilston Street police station on 0845 113 5000.