SWINDON Town FC player Albert Jarrett was involved in a car accident just two hours before the team's kick-off against Walsall.

Mr Jarrett, 21, a midfielder who has been with Town for just a fortnight after signing on loan from Brighton and Hove Albion, was driving his black 4x4 Volkswagen Touareg when the accident happened, in Old Town.

His car was in collision with a silver Porsche Boxster at the junction of Union Row and Belle Vue Road at 6pm last night.

A male pedestrian was taken to the Great Western Hospital with leg and hip injuries.

A red Volkswagen Golf parked in Belle Vue Road was damaged and a front garden wall was demolished.

The pedestrian, believed to be from Barnsley, was thrown to the pavement, where nearby residents quickly came to his aid.

All three emergency services were called, with paramedics arriving first, treating the man with oxygen before carrying him away on a spinal board.

Police officers then arrived, cordoned off nearby roads and began an investigation. Firefighters made sure there was no risk of flames from the cars. Debby Donkin, who lives opposite the accident, was one of the first people at the injured man's side.

"All I heard was a big crunch. I came running out and saw that the guy was on the floor, so I went back in to get a blanket. He seemed okay he was conscious all the time I was there." Longs Bar manager Gavin Lloyd, who owns the Golf damaged in the crash, said: "I always park my car in that space. I heard a crash and came outside."

Mr Jarrett was a member of Town's first team at Southend on Friday, but was not on the teamsheet at the County Ground last night for the game against Walsall.

It is not the first time a Town player has been in a car accident before a match. In November 2004, striker Christian Roberts was involved in a car crash just yards from the County Ground on the day of a match against Bristol City in the LDV cup competition.

The accident is the second to occur in Union Row in three weeks. On January 10, another Volkswagen ploughed into a house in the street after its handbrake failed. The driver, from London, was in an Indian restaurant in Victoria Road when the accident happened.