AN ELDERLY woman had to be cut free from a car after a vehicle collided with the passenger side.

The smash happened today (August 28) on Front Street, in Quebec, near Durham.

County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service were called out at 10.36am to the two-car crash.

Steve Wharton, group manager for the service, said the vehicle carrying the woman and an elderly man was hit on the side where the woman was sitting.

The door was crushed, physically trapping the woman.

She complained of shoulder and arm injuries at the scene and was made comfortable before firefighters removed the roof to free her.

Although she showed no immediate signs of life-threatening injuries, she was taken to hospital by paramedics as a precautionary measure.

The driver suffered from shock but was not injured while the driver of the other vehicle was unhurt.

Mr Wharton said he believed the couple were not from the UK and may have been unfamiliar with the road.

Two appliances from Bishop Auckland attended the scene alongside police.