Crashes stretch 999 teams to limit

The emergency services were stretched to their limit during a weekend of serious accidents on the roads of the West Midlands.

Two van drivers were airlifted to hospital after a crash in Coven on Saturday afternoon. The men, who were both from the Coven and Fordhouses area, suffered serious injuries after the white Toyota and silver Vauxhall Caddy vans collided in Coven Road.

One of the drivers, aged in his 40s, had to be freed by the emergency services after being trapped in the van for 45 minutes.

He suffered serious leg and throat injuries. The second driver, a man in his 20s, received internal injuries as well as injuries to his head, leg and pelvis.

In Bridgnorth a female motorcyclist was taken to hospital by air ambulance after a smash with a car outside a farm. The accident happened on the A454, in Swancote, at around 2.45pm on Saturday. The woman, who suffered neck and back injuries, was airlifted to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. A man who was in the car received minor injuries. He was taken by land ambulance to the Princess Royal Hospital.

In Shropshire, a young boy who was riding pillion on a motorbike was airlifted to hospital after an accident. The crash, which involved the motorcycle and a car, happened on the B4368 in Craven Arms just after midday yesterday. The motorbike rider, a man in his late 40s, was airlifted to Selly Oak Hospital after fracturing his leg. The boy, who is thought to be aged 11, was airlifted to Birmingham's Children's Hospital. He had injured his right leg.

In Worcestershire, a motorcyclist was airlifted to hospital with critical head and chest injuries after a collision with a car. The man, in his 30s, was riding his bike along the Hartlebury Road in Kidderminster at around 6.40pm yesterday when the crash happened.

In Walsall, a motorist hit a parked car after swerving to avoid a cat. The female driver, who was aged about 20, was treated for shock after the accident, which happened in Morris Avenue, Bentley, at 11.50pm Saturday.

Elsewhere in Walsall, fire crews tackled a blaze involving a car which had overturned in the street. The gutted vehicle, believed to have been a Peugeot, flipped on to its roof in Shakespeare Crescent, Harden, at about 11 o'clock last night. It is thought the car may have been stolen and set alight.

In Birmingham a woman was trapped in her car following a crash in the Hall Green area. Two cars collided in Cateswell Road and careered off the road at around 5.50pm yesterday. One driver, a woman in her early 20s, was trapped in her car for around 40 minutes.

In Wolverhampton a thick plume of black smoke filled the air yesterday afternoon after arsonists set fire to a van.

The blaze spread to a coal yard, next door to the van fire in Purbrook Road. No serious damage was done to the coal yard.