A MAN in his 20s was arrested after the car he was driving crashed into a wall in Upper Gornal.

The car smashed into a stone wall in Kent Street at around 11.15pm last night (Monday January 2).

The driver, who suffered minor injuries, was arrested for being unfit to drive through drink and drugs and was taken to hospital.

He had been pulled from the car by a passerby in the crash near the Labour Club. 

Police said he was later arrested for a racially-aggravated public order offence and assaulting a police officer.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: "He remains in custody at this time while enquiries continue."

Local resident Chloe Edwards, aged 25, said: "I was lying in bed and jumped out of my skin.

"It was such a loud bang that everyone had come out of the flats and I saw an ambulance racing to the scene.

"The man had a puppy in the car.

"The wall looks really bad and one of the bollards in the middle of the road was knocked off."

A spokesman for West Midlands Ambulance Service said: "One ambulance, a paramedic officer, MERIT trauma doctor and critical care paramedic were sent to the scene and, on arrival, found a car had been in a collision with a wall.

"The driver, a man, was already out of the vehicle and was treated by ambulance staff for injuries not thought to be serious before being taken to Russells Hall Hospital for further assessment."

A spokesman for West Midlands Fire Service said fire engines from Tipton and Dudley were sent to the scene.

He said: "The male driver had been pulled from the vehicle by a passer-by before we arrived.

"We made the vehicle and scene safe.

"There was a dog in the car.

"We left the incident and the recovery of the car and the care of the dog - with police."