Five people from the same family - including two children - had to be cut free from a horrific smash involving a stolen car.

Firemen said the family were lucky to get out of the mangled wreckage alive after the crash at just after 9pm last night in Lidget Green.

The children - a seven-year-old boy and a girl, 13 - had to be cut free from underneath the dashboard. All were taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary with serious injuries.

A Honda Civic carrying six people and a suspected stolen silver Vauxhall Cavalier with three occupants collided head on at the junction of Horton Grange Road, Ingleby Road and Legrams Lane.

Ambulance and fire crews rushed to the scene and battled for 40 minutes to free the trapped occupants of the Honda Civic which was badly crumpled. The Cavalier suffered damage to its front.

Leading Firefighter David Sharpe, of Fairweather Green fire station, said: "We had to cut the roof off the Honda to get the family out. "The whole family were taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary with a variety of injuries, some internal. They were very lucky to get out."

Six ambulances arrived and a crowd of onlookers gathered at the scene within moments.

A spokesman for the ambulance service said: "One female suffered slight injuries, another female had facial injuries and a male, the driver, had leg injuries. A child suffered multiple injuries.

"An occupant of the Cavalier was taken to hospital with head injuries and the two others were walking wounded."

Police say the Cavalier was travelling along Legrams Lane towards Ingleby Road when it was in collision with the Honda Civic.

Inspector Richard Moffat, of Toller Lane Police, urged witnesses or anybody who had seen the cars prior to the accident to come forward.

He said: "This is a very busy junction and we want to speak to anyone who saw what happened.

"We have had scenes of crime officers and the accident investigation branch on the scene trying to ascertain what happened but we would urge anyone who saw anything to come forward with information.

"It appears that both cars were travelling along Legrams Lane and collided at the centre of the junction.

"A large crowd gathered immediately after the accident, there was chaos and the road was closed. Investigations are continuing."

Meanwhile, rush hour traffic was snarled up in Bradford city centre today after a collision between a lorry and a car.

The accident happened just before 7am at the junction of Lumb Lane and Westgate outside the New Beehive pub.

The lorry collided with a lamppost and a wall and the driver was cut free by firefighters and taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary for treatment to minor injuries.

The driver of the blue and grey Rover was not understood to be injured in the accident.

Station Officer Dave Sidebottom, of Bradford Fire Station, said: "There was one person in the wagon who was trapped by his waist and his legs and we used cutting gear and hydraulic equipment to release him in about 30 minutes.

"The driver was from the Bradford area from a meat delivery firm and was conscious throughout."

The vehicles blocked the road at Westgate and on Lumb Lane traffic was diverted by the pub. White Abbey Road was also sealed off and the roads were due to reopen before 9am.