A MAN and a woman were badly injured when a car hit a telegraph pole and a tree in York early this morning.

Emergency services were called to Ox Carr Lane, in Strensall, at about 2am following the collision, which involved a blue Renault Clio.

The car left the road after its junction with Moor Lane before crashing into a telegraph pole and a tree, a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said.

The driver, a 30-year-old man, and a 28-year-old female passenger, both from the York area, were taken to hospital following the crash and remain in a serious condition, the spokeswoman added.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Hydraulic cutting gear was used by two Huntington crews to rescue a male driver from his car after it had collided with a tree."

Police want to hear from anyone who witnessed the collision, or who saw the Clio travelling in the direction of Strensall from Strensall Common, to get in touch.

Anyone with information should phone North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for TC Martin Hayes of the Tadcaster Roads Policing Group. Alternatively, email martin.hayes@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

Quote reference number 12170130759.

The road was closed to allow emergency services to deal with the crash. It reopened shortly after 9am.