Atkinson leaves hospital after crash

The actor is believed to have suffered a shoulder injury after the accident on the A605 in Haddon, Cambridgeshire.

The 56-year-old Blackadder and Mr Bean star was driving his McLaren F1 supercar when it spun around several times, ran into a tree and a lamppost and caught fire, according to reports.

The actor is said to have walked from the vehicle and was with a passing motorist until emergency services arrived.

A spokesman for Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals said Atkinson was admitted on Thursday night.

He left Peterborough City Hospital via a back door flanked by four security guards at about 3pm.

Security guards escorting the actor, who was in a wheelchair, tussled with a cameraman as he left in a Harley Street private ambulance.

Atkinson, known to be a car enthusiast, recently topped the leaderboard on the Top Gear Star in a Reasonably Priced Car contest. He told presenter Jeremy Clarkson he was keen on racing and was currently driving a 1964 Ford Falcon.

But his racing background did nothing to quell his nerves before the challenge, he admitted.

Atkinson is best known for his work on Not The Nine O’Clock News, Blackadder and Mr Bean, in which his hapless character drives an old Mini.