POLICE are searching for a lorry involved in a three-car accident in which a woman sustained suspected fractured legs.

The heavy goods vehicle, believed to have been delivering Calor Gas or hazardous chemicals, left the scene of the crash, on the B1280 Easington Lane to Haswell road, in County Durham.

The accident took place at about 5.20pm on Wednesday as a Ford Mondeo travelling towards Haswell tried to overtake the lorry and was involved in an accident with an oncoming Ford Ka and an Audi car.

The Ka driver, a 32-year-old local woman, was trapped in the wreckage. It took two teams of firefighters from Peterlee about two hours to free her.

She was taken by helicopter to the University Hospital of North Durham, in Durham, where her condition was yesterday described as stable.

The 44-year-old Mondeo driver was taken to the hospital suffering from shock, while the Audi driver was uninjured.

The lorry driver failed to stop, and police are appealing for help to trace the vehicle.