He was released from the car by firefighters, and his condition was this morning described as “serious”.

The island connects the A49 with the A5 into Shrewsbury and out to Telford, and there were queues of traffic stretching both ways this morning.

The collision happened at around 6.30am and police closed the road off at 7.45am while the car was recovered from the island.

Police spokeswoman Maria Hawkaluk said: “The lanes approaching the island were cordoned off and the driver, a man in his 40s, was taken to hospital.

“We closed the island just to recover the vehicle, which wasn’t blocking the road.

“When we arrived, the vehicle was on the island. It was a green saloon car.

Miss Hawkaluk said that the road had been reopened by 8am, and that traffic problems could have been caused by people slowing down to look at the site of the accident.

She added that it was still unclear why the car had left the road.

Steve Parry, a spokesman for Shropshire Ambulance Service, said: “We got a call to Preston Island at 6.41am.

“There was one car involved and we treated a male in his forties for a head injury and he was taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

“His condition is serious at this moment in time.”

A spokeswoman for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said that two appliances, a rescue tender and an officer had attended the scene of the collision.

“One person was released,” she said.

By Alys Cummings

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