A HAMPSHIRE motorcyclist was critically injured in a horrific crash in which a car towing a horsebox burst into flames.
The motorcyclist, who has not been named, suffered multiple injuries when he collided with a Mercedes 4x4 on a sharp bend near Buckler's Hard in the New Forest yesterday.
The car caught fire but the two people inside scrambled clear and managed to save the horse.
They are understood to have been a woman and her teenage grand-daughter, whose GCSE coursework was in the blazing vehicle.
Firefighters from Hythe and Beaulieu arrived minutes after the crash happened at about 2pm.
Officers closed the road, preventing tourists from visiting the 18th century shipbuilding village - one of the most popular destinations in the Forest.
A Hampshire police spokesman said the driver of the Mercedes was treated for shock. He confirmed that the horse was uninjured.
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