Four people have been taken to hospital after a major crash caused chaos on the A19 in County Durham.

The crash happened shortly before 8am this morning (Tuesday, October 18) on the A19 southbound between the junctions for the A181 and A182, Murton.

Five vehicles were involved in the crash and at one point all four lanes of the A19 south and northbound were shut to traffic while emergency services worked at the scene.

Police, paramedics and the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) were all in attendance.

A North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) spokesperson said: "We received a call shortly before 8am this morning to reports of a five vehicle road traffic collision on the A19 southbound.

"We sent two Hazardous Area Response Teams, a clinical team leader and three emergency ambulance crews and transported four patients to Sunderland Royal Hospital for further treatment."

The air ambulance confirmed its attendance though it was not needed to transport anyone to hospital.

A spokesman said: "Our critical care team were activated at 8.12am to reports of a road traffic collision on the A19 near Murton.

"They arrived on scene at 8.23am and our paramedic and doctor assessed a patient before they were diverted to another incident at 8.47am."

The road remained closed for around two hours before one lane on each of the north and southbound carriageways was reopened to traffic.

The outside lane on both carriageways remained shut for a while longer to enable repairs to the central reservation crash barrier.

Traffic built up on the surrounding roads as drivers looked to find alternative routes and a diversion was put in place.

However, all lanes are now reopen and a National Highways spokesman said: "The scene is now clear and all lanes have been removed."

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