A driver has been taken to hospital after a one-vehicle crash on a County Durham road under the A1(M). 

Emergency services were called to the incident between  Bishop Middleham and Mainsforth at around 6.30am on Friday (September 27), following reports of a crash. 

Police and ambulance crews attended the scene, while the road was sealed off to allow them to work at the scene. 

During the incident, one lane of the A1(M) northbound was also closed off for repairs on the barriers, but it's unknown at this time whether the two incidents are connected. 

In their initial statement, Durham Police said: "Due to a crash, the road is closed between Bishop Middleham/Mainsforth under the A1. Highways are also putting a Lane One closure on the Northbound carriageway above this location to repair the barriers."

Durham Police has since issued an updated statement, confirming that a driver of a Mercedes has been taken to hospital, and warned drivers that the road remains closed. 

A spokesperson for the police force said: "We were called to reports of a one-vehicle collision on the road between Bishop Middleham and Mainsforth under the A1 at around 6.30am this morning.

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"The driver of a Mercedes car was injured and is being taken to hospital.

"Highways England is currently on scene and drivers are advised to avoid the area while the vehicle is recovered."

A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson added: "We were called to a road traffic collision this morning (27 September) around 6.30am on the A1 in Bishop Middleham. We dispatched one ambulance crew, one specialist paramedic and one clinical team leader. One patient was taken to University Hospital of North Durham."