A road into Hitchin has been shut this evening after a car crashed into a utility pole – with reports it has snapped in half.

Police and a Hitchin fire engine were called to Wymondley Road at about 5.05pm after a BMW 320i M Sport hit the wooden pole – used to support overhead power lines.

A spokeswoman for the police said one man was involved, but it did not appear that he had been hurt.

They said overhead cables had come down in the crash, and that the pole had “snapped in half”.

The road has been shut at the junction with St Michael’s Road, and a spokesman said further closures around the village of Great Wymondley were being put in place. Traffic has been backing up around the area as a result.

A fire service spokeswoman confirmed one engine was called, but nobody was trapped inside the car.

The electricity board have also been informed.