A middle-aged man was taken to hospital suffering from spinal injuries after the car he was driving hit a tree last night.

The man, aged in his late-thirties or early-forties, was driving a blue Vauxhall Vectra along Dunton Road, in Laindon, when it left the carriageway and hit the tree at around 6.45pm on Monday<DEC13>.

Ambulance crews and two fire crews from Basildon were called to the scene, where they found the motorist trapped in the driver's seat.

Firemen spent more than half-an-hour cutting the roof off the car before the man was delicately taken from the vehicle on a backboard.

For the full story, see today's Echo.