A 70-year-old woman has been seriously injured in an accident involving a tram.

The accident took place on Blackpool’s seafront when one of the trams knocked down the elderly woman near to the Norbreck Castle Hotel on 5 August 2009.

It is believed that the woman was on her summer holiday and was staying at the Norbreck Castle Hotel.

The woman was taken to Blackpool Victoria after paramedics attended the scene. She was later transferred to the Royal Preston Infirmary where she is said to be in a critical state with serious head and chest injuries

No one else was injured in the accident although the tram driver was being treated for shock. The Rail Accident Investigation Bureau was also called to the scene.

The accident happened at around 10am and the passengers of the tram were told to get off the vehicle and the tracks remained closed until 12.30pm as police examined the scene.

Gail Atkinson, a local resident who saw the scene said: “There were police, two ambulances, and cordons surrounding the Norbreck stop, it looked chaotic. A tram had stopped just by the shop, and people were surrounding it, looking shocked. I arrived just after the incident happened. It is terrible.”

A holidaymaker spoke of their shock at witnessing the scene. Claire Lennox from Coventry said: “We heard the commotion from our room, a few floors up. There were loads of people getting off the tram, when we realised a woman had been hit it was a real shock. The tram seemed to be at a funny angle, like it had come off the rails slightly. I feel terrible for the man who was with her too, he ran inside to get some help.”

A spokesman from Lancashire Police said: “We received a call at around 10.10am with reports that a 70-year-old woman had been hit by a tram. She was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital with serious chest and head injuries, and later transferred to Royal Preston Hospital. Her companion, the man who was with her at the time of the accident, accompanied her to hospital. Accident investigators were sent to the scene, as well as track inspectors, and the accident is under investigation.”

Those investigating the incident have appealed to any witnesses to the accident to come forward. Pc Dave Cartmell, from the force’s Road Policing Unit said: “I am also keen to hear from people who were actually on the tram. There are a couple of people who we have not yet spoken to and I would be keen to hear from them.”