A 44-YEAR-OLD woman was seriously injured when she crashed a car into a wall on Christmas Eve.

Kathleen Calvert, 44, of Manor House Farm, Paythorne, was driving a Vauxhall Vectra along Hellifield Road, Gisburn, when it left the road at 8.20am.

The road was closed for three hours as emergency crew went to the scene.

Fire crew spent more than an hour cutting Mrs Calvert from the car. She was then taken to the Royal Preston Hospital by air ambulance, suffering from serious leg and facial injuries.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: "The road was closed for around three hours, first to enable the rescue operation to take place.

"Then accident investigators moved in so they could find out what happened.

"It appears that the driver came off the road at a bend and crashed into a wall.

"Both Fire and Rescue and the air ambulance were involved in the rescue."

A spokesman for the North West Air Ambulance said: "We landed at the scene at 8.45am. The car appeared to have impacted with a wall.

"The patient remained trapped within the wreckage of the car for around one hour until the Fire Service were able to release her.

"During this time the patient was assessed and treated by paramedics and a Basics Doctor on scene.

"The patient was airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital by the North West Air Ambulance in 11 minutes."