A WOMAN is seriously ill in hospital after her car was in collision with a truck, hit a lamppost and rolled down an embankment.

The incident happened at 10.30am yesterday, when the woman, thought to be in her mid-40s and from Peterlee, County Durham, was driving a Rover 214 south on the A19.

At the Easington and Peterlee turnoff, the car collided with the rear of a Scania articulated tractor unit and trailer, then veered off the road.

The woman suffered head injuries, and was airlifted to Newcastle General Hospital by the North-East Air Ambulance.

Her 23-year-old daughter, who was a front-seat passenger, was taken to the University Hospital of Hartlepool with shock and minor injuries, and was later released.

The driver of the lorry, a 62-year-old man from the Hereford area, was uninjured in the incident.

The road was closed for about three hours.