A driver escaped with minor injuries today after his car was crushed in a crash with a lorry in Dudley, causing traffic chaos.

A half-mile stretch of Pedmore Road was shut in both directions after the smash involving a lorry and Vauxhall Astra.

The driver of the red Astra, who was in his early 20s, was trapped in the car for about an hour.

Firefighters had to remove the roof of the vehicle to free him. He escaped with only minor neck and back injuries, police said.

The road was shut by police between Peartree Lane and the junction with Stourbridge Road after the accident at 8.55am.

Queues of up to half a mile built up on Stourbridge Road as vehicles were diverted from the usually busy Pedmore Road, which is a main route to the Merry Hill shopping centre. The lorry was turning right out of C Brown & Sons steelworks towards Merry Hill when the crash happened.

Watch commander Mark Smith, of Dudley Fire Station, said: “The driver was quite lucky not to have been injured any more seriously as his car was very badly damaged.

“He was fully conscious and did not want us to cut the roof off his car but unfortunately it was the only way we could get him out.”

One passer-by, who did not wish to be named, said: “The car was smashed up all along the driver’s side, it looked quite bad. It caused quite a lot of trouble with traffic.” The road was re-opened at about 10.50am after police had investigated the scene and the vehicles had been cleared.

The Vauxhall driver was taken to Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley. The lorry driver was uninjured.