AN off-road driving competition was delayed at the weekend after two participants were injured when their car flipped backwards.

The incident took place at the annual Peter Bankstone Memorial Sporting Trial on the slops above the car parks at Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb, near Martley, when Yorkshire driver Martin Grimwood crashed on one of the first sections of the course at about 11.30am on Sunday.

His passenger Duncan Walker was also injured and airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where he was reported to be in a serious but stable condition.

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service confirmed a man in his 50s was treated for a laceration to his chin and taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for treatment.

The other man, who was in his 40s, was treated to abdominal and spinal tenderness before being taken to hospital by a Midlands Air Ambulance from Strensham at 12.23pm.

The aim of a trial, which is held at the home of the Midland Automobile Club, is to drive a twisty route up a grassy hillside without stopping.

Each car has a passenger who moves their weight around to get the best possible traction on each wheel.

The event is named after Bridgnorth garage owner and club committee member Peter Blankstone who was one of the instigators of sporting trials for the club in the 1970s.