FOUR people were taken to hospital following a serious road accident near Heighington village last night.

A car burst into flames after a collision with another vehicle on the A68, near The Dog Inn, at about 8.20pm.

It is understood that drinkers from the pub helped pull one badly injured person clear of the wreckage before the fire brigade arrived.

All four people involved in the accident were taken by ambulance to Darlington Memorial Hospital.

All the injuries were caused by the crash, rather than the fire. The ambulance service last night described the condition of two of the casualties as serious.

Two fire appliances from Newton Aycliffe and one from Bishop Auckland, together with a heavy rescue vehicle, attended the scene.

Firefighters extinguished the flames, which had spread to trees and shrubs at the side of the road.

One car was severely damaged by the blaze and the other also suffered fire damage.

Details of the incident were still emerging last night, but a spokesman for the fire brigade said: "When we arrived, the casualties were all out of their vehicles.

"As far as we can gather, two of them were able to get themselves out and they got one of the others out."

He added: "Members of the public who came out from the pub managed to get the other one away from the scene."

Police closed the road for several hours while accident investigators examined the cause of the crash and the debris was cleared.