A CAR salesman had to be cut free after the new Peugeot 206 he was delivering crashed into a lamppost.

The 28-year-old suffered a broken leg in the smash on Rishton Lane, Great Lever, and was taken to Royal Bolton Hospital yesterday afternoon. He had driven the car less than a third of a mile from the Peugeot showroom on Bridgeman Street when the accident happened.

The vehicle ended up wedged between the lamppost and a pile of rubble.

A police spokesman said: "He was very lucky not to have been hurt more seriously." It is believed the driver was on his way to get petrol before delivering the car to a customer.

Eyewitness Linda Whittaker, aged 49, who lives on Rishton Lane, said: "I saw the car go past my window and the next time I looked it was wrapped around the lamppost.

"I didn't hear the smash. I ran outside and a bus driver who had stopped asked me to phone the police.

"It was terrible, but I think he was very lucky to be alive."

Staff at the Peugeot showroom said that they did not want to comment on the incident.