UPDATE 06 AUG. 11:20am: BRITISH film and TV comic Rowan Atkinson hospitalised today after crashing his McLaren F1 supercar in east England.

56-year-old comedic actor Rowan Atkinson lost control of his £650,000 (AUD $1.05 million) McLaren F1 supercar, which then spun several times before smashing into a tree and then a lampost, the Daily Mirror reported.

Atkinson' s McLaren F1 then reportedly burst into flames, before Atkinson managed to pull himself free from the burning wreckage.

The Evening Starreported that emergency services were called to the scene of an accident on the A605 near the village of Haddon, Cambridgeshire at 7.30pm, following reports that a man had been involved in a single car collision.

On arrival, paramedics found that the car had left the road.

Firefighters put the blaze out and Mr Atkinson was taken to Peterborough District Hospital suffering from a shoulder injury, the Mirror reported.

An onlooker noted that "Rowan is lucky to be alive considering the state of the car."

It was not reported if Mr Teddy was in the car at the time of the accident.

It is the second time that Atkinson, well known for his roles in the British comedy series Blackadder and Mr Bean, has crashed his McLaren F1 supercar which he purchased to celebrate the success of his Mr Bean movies .

In a previous collision that occured in October 1999 on the A6 at Forton in Lancashire, the front of the supercar was wrecked when he ran into the rear of a Rover Metro.

Rowan Atkinson collects classic and vintage cars, and has also written articles for specialist car magazines.

Originally published as Mr Bean cheats death after crash