AN elderly man was flown to hospital with severe injuries after a head-on crash near one of Britain's leading public schools.

The 79-year-old was at the wheel of a Peugeot when it was in a head-on collision with a Ford Escort at about 11am on Saturday morning.

The accident happened close to Ampleforth College, near Helmsley, and the man was trapped in the wreckage of his car.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance attended the scene and firefighters using hydraulic equipment were able to cut the man free after about 40 minutes.

"He had broken both legs and his arm and, after being placed on a spinal board and treated for his injuries, was flown to York District Hospital in ten minutes, a journey which would normally take a land ambulance about an hour," said a spokesman for the air ambulance.

The two occupants of the Escort were taken to hospital suffering from shock.