A policeman was taken to hospital after a crash in which his patrol car was wrecked while responding to a 999 call.

Shocking pictures shows the damage done to the police car in the collision, with its rear doors completely crumpled, and the roof lifted off in order to pull the police officer out.

The collision took place on Friday afternoon, just after 4pm, on the A358 Furnham Road near Chard, Somerset, when the officer was responding to another emergency call in the area.

A statement from Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that the officer was taken to hospital but was discharged the same day.

The statement said: “A police car responding to an emergency call was in collision with another vehicle in Furnham Road, Chard, at about 4.15pm on Friday.

“The officer was taken to hospital as a precaution to be checked over and has since been discharged. No other members of the public were injured in the collision.”

The road was closed for a number of hours on Friday as the police car was left sitting across two lanes.