The man in his fifties, who has not been named, was on a zebra crossing on the A1101 Churchill Road, close to the Freedom Bridge Roundabout, in Wisbech, when he was struck by the container vehicle.

His arm was trapped under one of the vehicle's wheels, and he suffered a fracture of his arm and chest injuries.

Rescue services used four airbags to lift the lorry clear of the injured man.

The man, who was said to be conscious, was taken by an East Anglian Air Ambulance, stationed at RAF Wyton, near Huntingdon, to Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge.

The accident happened at 12.30pm yesterday, and the road was closed for about five hours while emergency services carried out an investigation.

A spokesperson for the Magpas emergency medical service said: "The accident happened at a zebra crossing.

"A man was hit by a lorry and his arm was trapped under one of the wheels."

Four ambulances and four fire crews, including the rescue vehicle from Dogsthorpe, hurried to help the man.

The air ambulance was also called to help assist the rescue attempt, and it landed on the roundabout itself, while firefighters and paramedics worked to save the man.

All of the town centre's roads came to a standstill as the main routes in and out of Wisbech were closed and diversions were put in place, which remained long into the evening.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "Because of the weight of the vehicle, we needed to make sure we had proper support, so we fitted four air bags underneath the lorry."

Ward councillor and town mayor Jonathan Farmer said of Freedom Bridge Roundabout: "It's one of the worst accident blackspots in Cambridgeshire.

"In the future, with more housing planned, there will be an increase in traffic problems."

n The collision comes just over a year after a cyclist lost his life after being hit by a lorry, close to a pedestrian crossing, on the other side of the same road.

Leonard Lock (82) was travelling on the Freedom Bridge Roundabout when the crash happened at about 11.46am, on Wednesday, August 29.