A man was last night fighting for his life and two others were left seriously injured following a crash between a car and a lorry in Saltaire.

The incident happened when a silver Vauxhall Astra and an articulated Volvo goods van collided near Shipley Fire Station in Saltaire Road at the junction with Exhibition Road.

A man, believed to be in his late teens or early 20s and a student at Shipley College, had to be cut from the twisted wreckage of the car by firefighters.

He was taken by ambulance to Bradford Royal Infirmary with life-threatening injuries, a West Yorkshire police spokesman said.

Witnesses said it was lucky the man was not killed instantly in the crash which happened at about 1.50pm yesterday.

The front of the car was crushed in the collision.

Salvotore Meola, 47, the owner of Ace Café in Saltaire Road, said he heard the crash and went to see what had happened.

He said: "I phoned an ambulance but they said there had already been a few calls and it was on its way. When I went to look there were two ambulances and doctors around and firemen trying to cut the car open.

"There were paramedics helping a couple of lads. It didn't look like one of them would get through. They paramedics took him away on a stretcher. He will be lucky if he survives.

"Another went inside the fire station. I think he was in shock."

The two other men, described as "walking wounded" by a fire service spokesman, were also taken to BRI, police said.

They included the driver of the car who has head injuries, a West Yorkshire Police spokesman said, and another man who is believed to be a pedestrian.

The driver of the truck is believed to have escaped serious injury.

Crowds of people, some students at Shipley College, looked on as the emergency services arrived at the scene.

Police cordoned off the area near the junction with Exhibition Road and fire crews from Shipley, Bingley and Rawdon were called. Traffic was redirected and firefighters used cutting gear to free the severely-injured man from the passenger side of the car.

One firefighter who helped cut him free was also taken to hospital for a check up for blood contamination.

Steve Farley, watch manager at Shipley Fire Station, said: We heard it happen. There was a huge bang and we responded to it instantly. We had to cut free the front- seat passenger and the driver was one of the walking wounded.

"It was a particularly nasty incident but the fire crews worked well under difficult circumstances," he added.

A West Yorkshire police spokesman said the passenger was being treated in the intensive care unit at the BRI after suffering life-threatening injuries and confirmed that another man had head injuries.

A spokesman for Shipley College in Exhibition Road, Saltaire, said she could not confirm whether the injured men were students at the college.

She said: "We have had reports that there has been an incident but there is a police investigation going on so we cannot comment any further."