TWO men suffered serious head injuries after a car smashed into a tree and lamp post after a police chase early Saturday.

An officer in a police dog patrol van spotted a gold Range Rover in Manchester Road, Bolton, at 1.40am which had earlier been reported stolen.

Police said the driver refused to stop and raced away from the officer.

The patrol van followed but the officer lost sight of the vehicle. Minutes later he found the Range Rover had crashed into a tree and lamp post in Loxham Street, Farnworth.

One of the occupants was flung out into the road and suffered serious back and head injuries. Emergency services found the second man lying by the side of the Range Rover.

The driver and his passenger have not been named but one is aged 39 and from Bolton.

Both were taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital intensive care unit where they are in a critical condition.

His companion has not yet been identified but is believed to be a similar age. Police believe the driver lost control on a bend. The Range Rover overturned and somersaulted for up to 150 yards before demolishing the lamp post.

Following the accident firemen discovered a pair of birds in the back of the wrecked Range Rover which had escaped from their cage during the crash.

The birds were uninjured and the RSPCA was called to deal with them.