From Times Online
March 8, 2010

Polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes in car smash on the A6 in Stockport

Jack Malvern

Sir Ranulph Fiennes has climbed Mount Everest, trekked to both poles and ascended the north face of the Eiger with no fingertips on his left hand, but the former SAS soldier met his match yesterday as he tried to negotiate the A6 in Stockport.

The explorer was involved in a collision with two other cars on his way back from a 42-mile trek in the Peak District.

Sir Ranulph, the oldest Briton to reach the summit of Everest, was left “dazed” and bloodied. His Jaguar hit a Nissan Micra travelling in the opposite direction and struck a Ford Focus before it mounted a pavement and came to a halt near the front window of an Italian restaurant.

Sir Ranulph, who turned 66 yesterday, was uninjured but was taken to hospital for treatment. The male driver of the Nissan suffered leg injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening. A five-year-old child in the vehicle was also injured but is not believed to be in a serious condition.

The polar explorer had been due to take part in the gruelling 42-mile High Peak Marathon in Derbyshire the night before.

Teams of four test their fitness, endurance and navigational skills through the night as they tackle terrain that is mostly made up of pathless peat bog.

Sir Ranulph was part of a veterans’ team called Poles Apart that was due to set off from Edale Village Hall at about 11.40pm. Competitors can take anything from between nine and 15 hours to complete the arduous event across the Derwent Watershed in the Peak District.

Police have asked witnesses to call the Road Policing Unit on 0161-856 2220.

A neighbour who lived closed to the accident scene in Heaviley, near Stockport, said that he heard a “massive bang” at the time of the collision.

A woman motorist who drove past just after the accident said: “I saw the man in his 60s in the passenger seat of his car. He looked in shock. He was holding what looked like a towel to the left-hand side of his face which was covered in blood.”