A minicab driver was seriously hurt in a hit-and-run crash in Bradford when his car was shunted into a derelict shop in a hit-and-run smash early yesterday.

The sound of the impact was so loud it woke local residents more than 50 yards away.

Firefighters from Odsal had to cut the victim from the wreckage of his Toyota saloon after the 1.30am collision with a white Audi car at the junction of Great Horton Road and Cross Lane, Great Horton.

The occupants of the Audi abandoned the car and fled the scene on foot. They are now being hunted by police.

One resident of nearby Ebeneezer Place told how she was woken by the thunderous sound of the crash and the cab hitting the boarded-up shop in Great Horton Road, opposite the library.

“There was a tremendous bang, like an explosion,” said the woman.

“It really sounded like a bomb going off.

“My husband went out to have a look and told me to call 999, but they were already on their way, we could hear the sirens.”

“It’s terrible around here after dark, there are always people tearing around the place and Great Horton seems to be a place that the police avoid.”

Another resident who saw the aftermath said the cab looked to have been heading out of town up Great Horton Road when it had been smashed into by the Audi heading from Cross Lane.

“Both the cars were in a bad state,” he said “The dark-coloured Toyota was smashed into the shop just along from a cooker and fridge centre.”

Firefighters freed the trapped driver by cutting the roof off his car and he was then taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment to his injuries.

The junction was closed for four hours as police and emergency services removed the cars and investigated the incident.

Anyone with information on the incident is asked to call West Yorkshire Police on 101.