A 17-year-old from Baxenden was today still fighting for his life after sustaining critical head injuries in a car crash between Haslingden and Oswaldtwistle.

Thomas Maylor, 17, of Whitecroft View, Baxenden, was the front seat passenger when the Seat Ibiza he was in crashed on a left-hand bend on Haslingden Old Road.

It ploughed 50metres into a field near between Broadfield and Cobbs Lane, Oswaldtwistle, at 3am on Sunday.

The former pupil of Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School, Haworth Street, Oswaldtwistle, is in the intensive care unit at Royal Preston Hospital.

His mother and father, Marie and Stephen, have kept a bedside vigil at the hospital. His younger sister, Emily, 16, went into school yesterday to complete a mathematics GCSE.

Rhyddings headteacher Barry Burke said everyone at the school was thinking of Thomas.

He said: "He is a really nice lad and our thoughts are with him and his family.We all wish him the best, it is such a shame what has happened."

Sgt Carl Simister, from the Road Policing Unit in Accrington, said Thomas was in the car with three other 17-year-olds, two from Accrington and one from Burnley, at the time of the accident.

Two of the youngsters escaped with minor whiplash injuries but the driver was taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary with serious cuts to his face.

Sgt Simister said police are not treating the incident as suspicious at this stage but officers hope to speak to all the boys about the incident.

He added: "The teenage driver was in his mother's car and was fully insured. There is no suggestion of any involvement of alcohol.

"It would appear the driver lost control on a left hand bend and ploughed into a field. The driver has not yet been interviewed but crash investigators have attended the scene."

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident. Call 01254 51212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.