A man was killed and another seriously injured when their car left the road and crashed into a tree near Oswestry.

The collision was one of a spate of road crashes in Shropshire over the weekend in which several people were injured.

The victim in the fatal accident, a passenger in a blue Peugeot 306, who is believed to be aged 18 and from the Oswestry area, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash on Saturday on the B5069 Gobowen road on the outskirts of the town.

The driver, a man in his 20s, was taken to the Wrexham Maelor Hospital with serious injuries and later transferred to Walton Hospital, Liverpool.

His condition was today described as critical but stable in the intensive care unit. It is believed the Peugeot was travelling from Oswestry town centre when it mounted the grass verge and struck a tree.

The road was closed for several hours following the crash at about 9.30pm for investigations to be carried out. Police have appealed for witnesses to contact them on 0300 333 3000.

West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman John Hawker said nothing could be done to save the man.

Earlier on Saturday three people were injured in a two-car collision on the A458 at Cressage. Three ambulances, a Basics doctor and a paramedic attended the scene at 9.30am.

The air ambulance was unable to fly due to adverse weather conditions.

The driver of one car, a man in his 40s, suffered neck injuries while the driver of the second car, a man in his 50s, suffered lower back injuries.

The passenger in the car, a woman in her 60s suffered neck, shoulder and hip injuries. All three were taken by ambulance to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

A female motorist was treated at the scene for minor injuries when her car was involved in a crash on the M54 between junction two, near Wolverhampton, and junction three, at Cosford. The single-vehicle collision, which happened at 7.40am yesterday, closed the westbound carriageway for more than half an hour.

And a woman in her 40s received treatment at the scene when a car carrying a family of four crashed on to its side at Neenton, near Bridgnorth yesterday at 3.15pm.

By Iain St John