A man has died after his car smashed into a tree on a main road in Shropshire.

The man, who has not been named, died at the scene of the accident on the A495 near Ellesmere in the early hours of today.

Police said no other vehicles appeared to have been involv- ed. Officers said the Ford Ranger 4×4 crashed shortly after 2am on the road between Newton, near Welshampton, and the Ellesmere junction on the A528.

Police, firefighters and paramedics were called to the scene, but were unable to save the man.

Inspector Mark Hatton, of West Mercia Police, said: “We would like to appeal for information as at this stage we have very few witnesses. It looks like it was a single vehicle collision at this stage.

“It happened about a quarter of a mile up from the Ellesmere turning and a single vehicle has struck a tree. A male was declared dead at the scene.”

Chris Kowalik, West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman, said: “A senior paramedic officer and an ambulance crew attended a road traffic collision. One vehicle had collided with a tree. The driver, a man, was confirmed dead at the scene.”

Firefighters from Ellesmere, Shrewsbury and Oswestry freed the man from the wreckage of the vehicle. A diversion was set up and the road closed for a few hours to allow collision investigators to examine the scene. Police have appealed for witnesses to contact them on 03003 333000.

Elsewhere, a woman was cut free from a car after a crash in Shrewsbury. It happened in Hereford Road, close to the Meole Brace roundabout just before 1pm yesterday.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said the collision was between an HGV lorry and a car and one woman driver, who was trapped in her car, had to be cut free.

Ambulance service spokeswoman Suzie Fothergill said the woman had head, shoulder and neck pain. She was immobilised and taken by ambulance to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.