AN ELDERLY woman was trapped and seriously injured in a crash between a car and a lorry on the A35 in West Dorset.

Emergency services rushed to the scene on Chideock Hill, between Bridport and Chideock, shortly after 4pm yesterday (Thurs) afternoon.

The car, containing a man and a woman both in their 80s, overturned following the crash and initially both passengers were trapped.

As paramedics, police and firefighters descended on the scene, the man managed to free himself from the car but the woman remained trapped and was extricated out of the vehicle by Dorset Fire and Rescue Service.

A spokesman for South Western Ambulance Service said it is understood the woman suffered serious but not life-threatening injuries. The man suffered an arm injury in the collision, but it is not thought to be serious.

Both were treated at the scene and then taken to hospital.

The male lorry driver was uninjured.

A spokesman for Dorset Police said: "We were called at 4.26pm to reports of a serious road traffic collision involving a car and a lorry on the Chideock Hill on the A35.

"The ambulance service was already at the scene and it was initially reported that two people were trapped."

The road was closed in both directions following the incident, causing lengthy tailbacks and long delays for motorists.

Police closed the road between the Crown Roundabout in Bridport and the A3058 junction on the A35 near Axminster, which caused the surrounding roads to be clogged with traffic, including Bridport town centre.

The road remained closed for several hours following the crash as the vehicles were recovered and an investigation into the collision was launched by police.

Speaking at the scene, PC Paul Metcalf, said: "The road was completely blocked.

"We diverted westbound traffic at Miles Cross through Symondsbury and Broadoak."

A spokesman for Dorset Fire and Rescue Service said that three fire engines were tasked to the scene from Dorchester, Bridport and Charmouth and crews used hydraulic cutting equipment to free the passengers.

**EARLIER in the day, Dorset Police were called to a separate single-vehicle road traffic collision near Raymond's Hill on the A35.

A green Land Rover Discovery, registered to an address in Lyme Regis, had crashed on the B3165 before rolling into a nearby field and overturning shortly before 4pm.

One woman was trapped in the car but managed to free herself and was treated at the scene by paramedics for minor injuries.

A man, who was driving the car, was also uninjured.