A man was trapped in the wrecked cab of his truck for an hour as firefighters battled to free him following a crash involving a lorry near Dartmouth on Monday morning.

Karl Stone, who married at Royal Castle Hotel in Dartmouth earlier this year and had been due to go on honeymoon, suffered serious injuries to his right leg.

He was trapped from the waist down in the vehicle recovery truck he was driving.

Firemen had to cut through the doors of the cab and then use hydraulic spreading gear to free the 37-year-old before he could be airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.

Karl's wife Sue has been at her husband's bedside every day since the crash. She said he underwent one operation on his leg on Monday and was undergoing a second on Wednesday.

'His leg is really bad,' she said. 'It is his right leg from the knee down. He has had one operation and is having another and we will have to take it from there.'

She said Karl, son of Dartmouth district councillor, former South Hams Council chairman and former mayor of Dartmouth Melvyn Stone, was conscious throughout the accident. She added: 'He was with it all the time.'

She said doctors were mainly concerned about how the injuries could affect the muscles in his leg.

The couple were due to go on a postponed honeymoon in Thailand in 11 weeks' time.

She does not yet know whether to cancel it as the doctors have said Karl's recuperation time could be some 12 weeks.

'The doctor said it could be the best thing for him if he is up to it,' Sue added.

The main A3122 into Dartmouth was closed for five hours as Mr Stone was freed and the two vehicles were cleared from the crash site on a narrow section of road between the Sportsman's Arms and Norton Park.

Cars were diverted around the lanes as traffic queues built up but many larger vehicles found themselves trapped until the road was cleared.

The accident happened at around 9.45am as Mr Stone was driving a seven-and-a half-tonne recovery truck, owned by Paignton firm Yalburton Autos, and towing a car towards Dartmouth.

The truck was in collision with a 38 tonne lorry heading in the opposite direction.

The accident completely blocked the narrow section of the main road.

Dartmouth firefighters, police and ambulances were called to the scene before Mr Stone was eventually cut free and taken by air ambulance to Plymouth.

Watch Commander Neil Whitemoor said: 'We had to use hydraulic rescue equipment to stabilise the vehicle and then cut him free.

'We had to cut the doors and spread the steering column and the front of the vehicle away from the casualty as he was trapped from the waist down.'

He said that it took around an hour to stabilise the vehicle and then get Mr Stone out.

Police reopened the road at around 2.30pm on Monday.