A FATHER was seriously injured after his car ploughed through the wall and gate of a village primary school. The man was trapped inside the car after it overturned and had to be cut free by firefighters

A FATHER was seriously injured after his car ploughed through the wall and gate of a village primary school.The man was trapped inside the car after it overturned and had to be cut free by firefighters. The driver, who is thought to be from nearby Elborough village, was taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol where police say he remains in a critical but stable condition.The accident happened as the black Peugeot 307 was passing through Hutton at 7pm on March 10. The vehicle was travelling along Main Road from the direction of Elborough when it collided with the wall and gates of Hutton Primary School at the junction of Church Lane. The damage will cost thousands of pounds to repair and the road through Hutton was closed for some tome.One of the school gates, which were chosen by youngsters from the school and fitted only a few weeks ago, will have to be replaced. A large section of the wall and a gatepost was also demolished and will need to be rebuilt.Headteacher Luci McLaren said: "The children were all upset but we had an assembly to talk about it. All our thoughts and prayers are with the driver and his family."Rita Bailey, who lives just yards from the crash in Main Road, was on the scene just moments after the crash.She said: "I heard this most awful crunch, saw what had happened and called the emergency services. Thank heavens the accident did not happen the night before as there was a function in the school and children were coming out the gates at that time."Pat Hodge, of Payne Road, was taking a line dancing class in the village hall at the time of the accident. The 57-year-old RGN nurse from Weston General Hospital said: "I heard the screech of brakes. I shouted for my husband to call the police and ran to the car. By the time I got there, there were a number of people from the take-away opposite who had seen the crash. I heard the car had hit the wall and flipped over."I could not do much to help the driver. Someone got a torch and I felt for a pulse. I spoke to the man and tried to keep him with us and prayed for the paramedics to arrive.