Police are continuing to investigate a crash between a car and a lorry at a notorious County Durham crossroads that saw a person airlifted to hospital.
Emergency services were called to the B6279 Kinninvie crossroads, between Eggleston and Staindrop, at around 8.45am on Thursday (May 30), following reports of a crash between the two vehicles.
This stretch of road has become an incident blackspot over the years, with numerous serious crashes and several fatal crashes.
Improvement work on the crossroad was made at the start of this year - which included replacing ‘give-way’ signs with ‘stop’ signs, new road markings, applying a high friction road surface, and a new vehicle-activated warning sign with flashlights which warn northbound drivers they are approaching a ‘stop’ line.
Police attended the scene and closed off the B6279 and Billy Lane in both directions - while paramedics and the air ambulance were also spotted at the scene.
All four road sections remain closed at this time, eight hours after the incident.
Images from the scene show the roads closed off at different sections, while coned-off sections can also be seen.
The North East Ambulance Service has confirmed that a person had been airlifted to hospital - but the condition of the person airlifted isn't known at this time.
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called to a road traffic collision this morning (30 May) at 8.42am on Billy Lane at Barnard Castle. We dispatched two ambulance crews, one clinical team leader and supported by our colleagues at Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). One patient was taken to hospital by GNAAS."
A Great North Air Ambulance spokesperson added: "Our critical care team was activated at 8.59am to reports of a road traffic collision in Kinninvie.
"We had two doctors and a paramedic on board our aircraft and they arrived on the scene at 9.16am.
"Our team worked alongside the North East Ambulance Service to assess and treat a patient and they airlifted them to hospital."
Follow our live blog of the incident here.
Following the collision, Durham County Council has sent well-wishes to those involved in the collision, and has said that they will be communicating with Durham Police about the incident.
Dave Lewin, Durham County Council’s strategic traffic manager, said: “We are aware of an incident at Kinninvie on Thursday morning and our thoughts are with everyone who was involved. Durham Constabulary are investigating the circumstances and we will be liaising with them once this investigation is concluded.”
Further details of the crash haven't been revealed - but Durham Police said at the time of the incident: "Officers are currently at the scene of a serious collision at Kinninvie crossroads.
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"It happened at around 8.45am today and involved a car and a lorry.
"The B6279 and Billy Lane have been closed in both directions while emergency services work at the scene.
"Drivers are asked to avoid the area and find an alternative route."
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