A young Shropshire footballer suffered a head injury when he was knocked down by a car as he and team-mates were returning from their club’s Christmas party.

Ludlow Town central defender Lucas Bladen was taken to New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton, following the accident on the Ring Road St Andrew’s, at Waterloo Road, in the city at 3.40am yesterday.

A West Midlands Police spokesman said 21-year-old Mr Bladen, from Aqueduct, Telford, was today in a stable condition and his injuries were not thought to be life-threatening. Police said pedestrian Mr Bladen was involved in a collision with a Seat Ibiza car.

Ludlow Town manager Stuart Corns said the club’s away match at AFC Wulfrunians tomorrow night had been called off in the wake of the incident.

He said: “No-one is in the frame of mind to play football after Lucas’s accident.”

Mr Corns said he had been with his players at their Christmas party at the Oceana nightclub in Wolverhampton and Mr Bladen and others were on their way to stop overnight in a hotel when he was injured.

In a separate incident, a man in his 20s was cut free from the car he was driving and airlifted to hospital following a crash in Shropshire just before 2pm yesterday.

Part of the A5 was closed off for nearly 45 minutes at Crackley Bank, near Sherrifhales, Shifnal, after the crash involving a Rover 25 and a Vauxhall Astra.

West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman Claire Thomas said the Rover driver was flown to Princess Royal Hospital in Telford. She said the driver and two passengers from the second car suffered minor whiplash injuries.