A driver had to be cut free from the wreckage of a car which smashed into a wall after a head-on crash with another car in Netherton.

He was taken to hospital in Dudley along with four people in the other car who escaped with minor injuries. The two cars – a Renault Laguna and a Nissan Serena – were travelling across the junction between Cradley Road and Saltwells Road in Netherton when they crashed yesterday.

They also hit a road sign before coming to rest against the wall of the old Golden Cross pub, which has been closed for two years.

Fire service watch commander Dave Lawrence, who attended the scene, said: “I would say they all had a very lucky escape – looking at the state of the cars I’m amazed none of them was more seriously injured.”

The Renault driver, a man believed to be in his 50s, was trapped in the wreckage with neck injuries. Fire crews from Brierley Hill and Cradley Heath had to use hydraulic cutting equipment to remove the roof and get him out.