A WOMAN was pulled from her car before it caught fire after it left the road and crashed into a tree this morning.

The accident happened at 8.14am on the Chilton to Kirk Merrington Road, near Spennymoor, County Durham.

Firefighters were called to the scene following a report that a car was on fire and the driver was thought to be trapped.

When they arrived they discovered the woman had already been rescued.

She was air lifted to The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough. Her condition is not yet known.

It is understood that the woman was driving to work in Darlington when the accident happened.