FIREFIGHTERS had to cut two motorists free from their cars after they collided head-on on the same side of a dual carriageway.

A 45-year-old Bolton man was driving his car along St Peter's Way, heading away from the town centre, at around 3.30am when it collided with another vehicle, driven by a man in his 20s, believed to be travelling in the wrong direction.

Two fire crews using hydraulic cutting equipment battled for half-an-hour to release the men.

They were both in a semi-conscious state and were taken by ambulance to the Royal Bolton Hospital with serious head injuries.

Sub Officer Ian Gardner, of Bolton Central Fire Station, said: "Both cars were smashed up and there was debris everywhere."