A MAN was airlifted to hospital after a car crash near a beauty spot yesterday.

The accident happened shortly after 3.30pm when two cars collided on the A6076 between Stanley, County Durham, and Sunniside, Gateshead, near the Causey Arch railway bridge.

Firefighters spent half an hour cutting two men from the wreckage.

The air ambulance took one to James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough.

Last night he was still being treated for head and internal injuries.

The second man was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham, Durham City, suffering from head and neck injuries.