A MAN is fighting for his life in hospital today after a head-on smash involving a police car on one of Scotland's busiest roads.

Two officers had to be cut free from the wreckage of their vehicle after they tried to stop a car travelling the wrong way down the A8.

The horror collision happened minutes after a Citroen was spotted travelling the wrong way down the eastbound carriageway, near junction six.

Paramedics gave emergency treatment to the 58-year-old male driver of the Citroen before he was rushed to hospital, where he is in a critical condition.

A 30-year-old police officer, who was driving the patrol car, suffered serious injuries to his legs and pelvis, while a second officer, aged 44, was treated for a shoulder injury and cuts and bruises.

It's thought both officers were trapped in the wreckage for more than an hour.

The accident happened around 10.05 last night outside the Honeywell factory at Newhouse Industrial Estate, near where the A8 merges with the M8.

The eastbound carriageway, between Shawhead and Chapelhall at Eurocentral, was closed until 11am today, with diversions in place, as accident investigators inspected the site.

The accident happened as police responded to several emergency calls from drivers who had spotted the vehicle driving the wrong way.

Fire crews from Bellshill and Easterhouse used hydraulic cutting gear to free the police officers and the other driver.

All three were rushed to Monklands Hospital.

As is normal in such circumstances, officers from outwith Strathclyde - in this case Lothian and Borders - will carry out an investigation.

Meanwhile, a man died after his car crashed into a wall in Glasgow's South Side.

Scott Bennett, 26, was injured when his vehicle spun off the road as he travelled along Albert Drive, Pollokshields, at around 5.05am yesterday.

He died shortly after being admitted to the Victoria Infirmary.

And an 18-year-old woman is still in a very serious condition in Glasgow's Southern General Hospital after a crash on the A770 Cloch Road in Gourock.

Her Peugeot 307 went out of control, left the roadway and struck a tree around 6.45pm on Monday.