A PASSENGER was trapped in a recovery truck with a fractured leg for three hours after a tyre burst causing the vehicle to career down an embankment off the A19.

The vehicle knocked down one tree before crashing into another, pinning the victim, a 21-year-old Sunderland man, inside the cab.

A 33-year-old man, also from Sunderland who was driving, escaped with minor head injuries in the accident on A19 southbound, near Dalton Lodge, at 8.30am on Saturday.

A rescue operation was hindered by the positioning of the tree and the cab.

Station officer Colin Robinson, of Stockton Fire Station, said: "He had hit the tree and flattened it then come to rest against another one which had squashed the passenger side completely.

"It was very difficult because we couldn't actually get to him and we had to dismantle the truck around him."

The truck had to be secured by a winch before the tree could be removed, allowing emergency services to get to the injured man in the cab.

Once free, he was flown to North Tees University Hospital by the North-East Air Ambulance.

The road was closed for up to five hours while emergency services cleared up, but the operation caused traffic chaos on the quiet roads around Hartlepool as motorists struggled to find alternative routes.

Cleveland Police have thanked the public for their patience while they dealt with the incident and urged anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them on (01642) 301558.