A 30-year-old man has been left fighting for life after his car flipped onto its roof after a collision close to Winterbourne Bassett yesterday afternoon.

The driver of the silver Ford StreetKa was travelling southbound away from Swindon when he crashed near to the Winterbourne Bassett turning on the rural stretch of road.

The car overturned onto the grass verge at the side of the road, leaving the driver with potentially life-threatening injuries.

Ambulance teams arrived on the scene within four minutes and immediately decided to scramble the Wiltshire Air Ambulance from Devizes to fly the patient to Frenchay hospital in Bristol due to the severity of his injuries.

Police said a black Honda Civic was also involved but the driver was unharmed.

Officers were forced to close the road for more than two hours while they carried out thorough investigations in the area.

The road was reopened to traffic by 4pm after the two vehicles had been recovered from the scene.

A spokesman for Wiltshire Police said: “We were called to the A4361 between Hackpen Hill and Winterbourne Bassett following a two-car collision at around 1.35pm.

“A Ford StreetKa and a Honda Civic collided with one another on the rural road and the driver of the Ford suffered serious injuries that are said to be life-threatening.

“The Wiltshire Air Ambulance was scrambled from Devizes to take the man to Bristol’s Frenchay Hospital. Police closed the road for more than two hours while they carried out detailed investigations and arranged for recovery of the cars, one of which had overturned.”

A rapid response vehicle was first on the scene to discover the driver of the Ford with serious injuries to his back and face.

A spokesman for the South Western Ambulance Service said: “We were called to the scene of a road traffic collision at 1.35pm on Tuesday afternoon.

“One ambulance unit, a rapid response vehicle, and the air ambulance attended the scene at 1.39pm.

“There was one casualty involved in the incident, a 30-year-old male who sustained back and face injuries, including injuries to his mouth.

“The man was airlifted to Frenchay hospital in Bristol at 2pm where he is currently receiving treatment.”