POLICE working to help save a man’s life following a serious car accident discovered senseless thieves had stolen safety equipment from the crash scene.

Emergency crews were called to deal with a serious traffic accident in North Yorkshire at about 10.55pm last night (Sunday, December 28.)

A silver Nissan Almera had come off the road outside Raskelf Farm Cottages, just off the A19 between Thirsk and Easingwold.

The driver, a 40-year-old man from Easingwold, was trapped in his car and had to be cut free by fire crews from North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue.

He suffered serious, life-threatening head and facial injuries in the collision.

The road was closed in both directions until 4am as paramedics, fire crews and police worked through the night at the scene.

But police discovered while they had been striving to save the man’s life, thieves had stolen a set of blue warning lights they had placed on the top of cones to alert other drivers.

The lamps had been placed there to make the accident scene visible to other road users and ensure the safety of emergency crews.

The injured man was taken to York Hospital for treatment before being transferred to Hull Royal Infirmary, where his condition was described as life-threatening on Monday afternoon.

One officer, @NYP333, tweeted: “If #Police put warning equipment out on the roadside please leave it there! It's there for your safety!” while @NYorksPolice tweeted: “While we were attending that collision, someone stole the blue lights we use to make the scene visible to other road users #unacceptable”.

Officers are urging anyone who witnessed the collision or saw the silver Nissan Almera prior to the incident to get in touch.

Anyone who can help officers with their enquiries is urged to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 - select option two - and ask for the major collision investigation team.

Alternatively, information can be emailed to MCIT@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk

Please quote reference number 12140224058 when passing on information.

Anyone with information about the theft should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 - select option one - and pass information to the force control room, quoting reference number 12140224097.