A MAN thought to have fled the scene of a crash that left a car mangled around a tree was taken to hospital shortly afterwards with serious head injuries.

Police believe the man was the driver of a Nissan Micra which crashed just a few feet from a bus shelter on Harrogate Road, Killinghall, at 6.43pm on Friday.

The incident led to police blocking off one lane of the busy road for almost three hours.

Investigators believe three people were in the vehicle and they all fled.

A little under an hour later paramedics were called to Gain Lane, Thornbury, to reports of a man with head injuries. He was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment.

A police spokesman said: "We believe this man was one of those involved in the collision. Enquiries into the incident are ongoing."

The crash happened at the junction of Harrogate Road and Leeds Road, near the Prince of Wales pub.

The car left the road and ended up on a grass verge, narrowly passing between a road sign and lamppost, before hitting the tree, which prevented it from careering into the wall of a property.

Several police officers, including a crime scene investigator, remained at the scene investigating and directing traffic until the vehicle was removed at 10.15pm.