NINE people including three young children were taken to hospital after two cars were in a head-on crash.

The accident between the Renault and the Vauxhall happened at 10.45am yesterday on Dixons Bank, at the junction with Brass Castle Lane, in Marton, Middlesbrough.

Six ambulances and two paramedic patrol cars took the casualties to Middlesbrough General Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and fractures.

The road was closed for three hours while police and fire rescue teams attended to make the area safe.

The 33-year-old driver of the Renault and her 58-year-old female passenger were not kept in hospital.

A 38-year-old man was detained with a broken elbow and an 11-year-old was kept in for observation.

A 38-year-old man, a 37-year-old woman and a five-year-old girl who had been travelling in the Vauxhall were released from hospital.

The elderly male driver required further reatment for a broken hip and an eight-year-old boy was detained for observation.

In a separate incident, a motorist fled after crashing a black Ford Escort into a lamppost in Tedder Avenue, Thornaby, just after 9am yesterday.

The impact ruptured the oil sump, causing five litres of engine oil to spill on to the road, to which fire crews from Thornaby were called out to clean up.

Police were yesterday trying to contact the owner of the vehicle to see if it had been stolen.