A driver had a lucky escape from a blazing car after a three-car accident last night.

He was taken to East Surrey Hospital at Redhill with two other people who were also badly hurt in the crash in Crawley at the junction of Balcombe Road and St Catherines Road at Pound Hill at about midnight.

The Crawley fire crew arrived to find the man's Saab car blazing.

They were unable to stop it being wrecked by the flames. He escaped with a leg injury and cuts to the head.

The driver of a Ford Cosworth suffered leg and face injuries, and his male passenger shoulder and back injuries.

The male driver of the third car involved, a Peugeot, was not believed to have been badly hurt.

The crew gave first aid before ambulance crews arrived.

The accident is believed to have been caused when one of the cars emerged from a junction and struck one of the others, which then hit the third car.

A spokesman for Crawley fire brigade said: "One car was already well alight we we arrived. Fortunately whoever was in there had managed to get out. It was totally destroyed by the fire."

The names of those involved have not been released by police who operate data protection guidelines.