A MAN was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after he was hit by a car on Monday afternoon.

The accident happened at around 2pm when the man, believed to be in his 60s, was hit by a grey Volkswagen Golf on Barbara Castle Way in Blackburn.

Emergency services quickly arrived and the man was taken to the Royal Preston Hospital by air ambulance.

A spokesman for the ambulance service has confirmed that he is in a critical condition with serious head and chest injuries.

Shopper Frank Stephenson, who had been at The Mall, said: "I didn't see it happen but I heard a commotion and looked over the road and could see someone lying in the street.

"The police and ambulance were here in moments. It's scary to see. Barbara Castle Way is notoriously bad."

The road remained closed for a number of hours after the incident as crews worked to clear away debris.

Traffic was redirected by police and heavy delays were experienced throughout the town centre during the afternoon.

Another onlooker, Karen Reeves, said: "This is horrible to see. All of these people standing around trying to find out what has happened. I just hope he is ok and the circumstances surrounding the accident are found out as soon as possible."

Both members of the public and councillors have previously dubbed the busy road as an 'accident blackspot' due to the number of incidents which occur along it.

Speaking about addressing the issue, Blackburn Councillor Hussain Akhtar said it was high time the council looked at making changes.

He said: "I know people in the area are concerned about using Barbara Castle Way, both in cars and on foot. The number of accidents happening there is growing and it needs to stop.

"While I realise speeding is an issue along the road, I think to keep pedestrians safe we need to seriously think about building a fly-over so that they can cross safely."

A police spokesman said: “We were called at 2.20pm to reports of a collision in Barbara Castle Way, Blackburn, involving a male pedestrian and a grey Volkswagen Golf.

"The pedestrian, who is in his 60s, was airlifted to Royal Preston hospital with suspected head injuries. A road closure has been put in place.”

A spokesman for the North West Ambulance Service added: "The man is in a critical condition having suffered a significant trauma.

"There was a high presence of emergency service on the scene and we had an advanced paramedic, rapid response unit, and land ambulance on the scene as well as the air ambulance which was in attendance."

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting log number 0712 of October 29.