A MOTORIST came close to being impaled by a piece of a wood which smashed through the windscreen of his car after it careered into a fence.

As this dramatic photograph shows the wood came within inches of where the driver had been seated.

The male driver, however, was left with serious injuries following the collision which also injured four others.

The East of England Ambulance Service said they were called to The Cotes, in Soham, East Cambs, at 3.22am today following reports of vehicle colliding with a fence and other cars parked in a garden.

Two crews from Cambridge and Ely stations, a duty operations manager and the trust's hazardous area response team were dispatched to the incident.

Ambulance service spokesman Gary Sanderson said: 'The driver of the vehicle, a man, received a serious injury after a wooden fence post came through the windscreen striking him.

'He was very lucky indeed not have been impaled on it. Paramedics treated, stabilised and immobilised him at the roadside before he was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital for further assessments.'

The other four occupants in the vehicle were also taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, for treatment.