A WOMAN in her 80s is fighting for life after her car hit the Premier Inn in Barrack Road on Friday.

Dorset Police were called to reports of a crash involving a lorry and a car around 10.30am.

Officers confirmed the collision involved a white Volvo lorry and a grey Mazda 6.

The Mazda subsequently collided with a wall of the hotel as well as a number of parked vehicles in the car park

Bournemouth Echo:

Paramedics and firefighters were called to the scene along with police officers.

The air ambulance landed at Christchurch Junior School, just a short distance away from the scene of the crash.

The driver of the Mazda was airlifted to hospital. She suffered life-threatening injuries.

The woman’s family has been informed and are being supported by officers.

The driver of the lorry was uninjured and no other members of the public were involved.

One side of Barrack Road was blocked outside the Premier Inn. Traffic coming from Christchurch town centre was unable to reach Bailey Roundabout.

Bournemouth Echo:

Sergeant Fern Graham, of the traffic unit, said: “We are carrying out a full investigation into this collision to establish what happened and our thoughts are with the family of the injured woman.

“I would urge any witnesses or anyone who was driving in the area at the time and may have relevant dashcam to contact us.

“I would also like to thank motorists and members of the public for their patience during the road closures, which have been necessary to allow ourselves and emergency services colleagues to respond to this incident and for a detailed examination of the scene to be carried out.”

Bournemouth Echo:

A spokesman for Whitbread, the company which manages Premier Inns, said: "We are aware there has been an incident where a car has gone into the side of the building and the emergency services have been called because of this.

"We can confirm no guests or staff of the hotel have been injured. There is currently no access to the car park or restuarant.

"We cannot speculate on the condition of the driver."

The road was cleared shortly after 2pm.

Anyone with information should contact police via dorset.police.uk, by emailing SCIT@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting incident number 9:129.