A teenager about to have her first driving lesson was airlifted to hospital after her instructor’s car was in a crash with a lorry.

The 17-year-old and the instructor, whose car was stationary at the time, were both hospitalised but police said their injuries were not life-threatening.

The accident happened yesterday afternoon on the road that links Cargo to Kingmoor, outside BSW Timber, on the northern edge of Carlisle.

The teenager was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle by the Great North Air Ambulance’s Pride of Cumbria helicopter.

Her driving instructor, from the city-based Danny’s School of Motoring, was taken to the Cumberland Infirmary with suspected neck and chest injuries.

The school’s owner Danny Daniels, 55, said after the accident: “I’ve spoken to the instructor who was involved in the accident and he is not badly injured.

“Apparently, they were sitting in the car at the side of the road and the car was stationary. It was her first driving lesson – she has literally just turned 17 and the lesson was a birthday present.

“She had just taken off her seat belt as they were just about to swap seats when [the collision happened].

“It’s just awful news. Our instructor is in a neck brace and might have some cracked ribs. He just joined us last week after moving up from Halifax. We don’t know what happened yet, but our concern is that the girl is okay.”

He said the instructors often used the road where the accident happened because it is long, wide and straight.

Emergency crews were sent to the scene at about 1.20pm. Firefighters released the two people from the Ford Fiesta car using specialist cutting equipment before handing them over to paramedics.

Watch manager Bruce Wilson told the News & Star: “There were three fire appliances, from Carlisle East, West and Brampton.

“That was a total of about 12 or 13 firefighters.

“It took about 50 minutes to get them out and make the scene safe.”

The road was closed between the A689 bypass at Kingmoor through to Rockcliffe for some time.

Drivers were warned to avoid the area and use alternative routes.

There is no indication that the driver of the lorry involved suffered injury. Police are currently trying to establish what caused the collision.