Bryan Ferry tells of son's horror car crash in Shropshire

And he will use his appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show to thank the emergency services who saved his son's life. The 69-year-old star said he was devastated when he received a call in December telling him that his 24-year-old son had been seriously injured in the accident.

Speaking during an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show, which was recorded on Thursday, Ferry said: "It's pretty bad. It's the worst thing a parent could imagine really."

He said firefighters and paramedics in Shropshire had provided world class care for his son at the scene of the accident, on the A458 near Cressage.

And he also praised the staff at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital for helping Merlin back onto his feet following a series of operations.

Ferry's son was initially described as critically ill, but he has slowly recovered at the QEH.

His brother Otis published a photograph of him on Twitter in a hospital corridor leaning on a crutch, along with the caption: "Merlin's first steps after a month in QE Hospital, Nothing like a delicious curry for motivation! Thank you to all x."

Ferry tells Ross on the show, being screened on ITV tonight: "Merlin was in this head-on collision and thanks first to the firemen in Shropshire and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital doctors and nurses he's making an amazing recovery – thanks to the NHS basically."

Merlin is one of four sons the Roxy Music star has with his ex-wife, former model Lucy Helmore.

Speaking about the crash being so close to Christmas, Ferry added: "It was that time of year when you want to celebrate and so it was a pretty dark time for us."

Ross was keen to find out about Merlin's current condition and asked Ferry if he would be in the "danger zone" for a while, to which the singer replied: "Very much so."

He continued: "Now he's actually out of hospital for a bit. He has to go back for more operations.

"He's with a crutch and he's being very game about it."

Earlier this month, Bryan posted a heartfelt message on Facebook, thanking all for "the kind messages of support".

Members of a crew from Wellington Fire Station were among the first members of emergency services to attend the scene of the accident, which happened on December 22.

Firefighters said the operation to free Merlin had been "a difficult extrication due to the impact involved".

Two ambulances, a paramedic, a trauma doctor and the crew from the Midlands Air Ambulance attended the scene.

Merlin suffered multiple fractures to his legs, pelvis, left arm and had a head injury.

He had been driving in a silver Volvo when he was involved in the accident.

One of the other vehicles in the tangled wreck had erupted in flames while Merlin was still trapped in his car, but a passer-by was able to quickly put out the dangerous blaze.

It took more than 45 minutes to free Merlin from the wreckage before he was taken by ambulance to the major trauma centre at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Otis, who is master of the South Shropshire Hunt, has also thanked firefighters for freeing his brother from the wreck and praised the work of hospital staff.

He wrote on Twitter: "Thank you for extracting my brother alive from what looks like a mangled box of tin."

Merlin had been travelling along the A458 about half a mile north-west of the village of Cressage, near Shrewsbury, at the time of the collision.

His car and a red Mercedes, which was travelling in the opposite direction, had collided head-on at around 6.40pm.

The 49-year-old Mercedes driver from Kidderminster escaped with minor injuries.

A third vehicle, a Scania lorry, which was travelling in the same direction as the Mercedes, was also involved but little damage was caused to it.

The driver was uninjured.

Paramedics at the scene described their shock at the damage to the cars, describing the "massive damage" to the car.

Wellington firefighters said that getting Merlin out of the wreckage was was a "difficult extrication" because of the impact involved.