A SERIOUS road accident has occurred on the outskirts of Durham City.

The A690 near Belmont was closed for a number of hours following the accident which is understood to have involved one vehicle.

At about midnight, Durham Police posted on Facebook: "The A690 westbound into Durham City from the A1M to the Belmont junction is currently closed due to a serious RTC. The diversion is Carrville High Street then down Gilesgate Bank into the city.”

This was followed by a post at 3am this morning, stating: “The A690 is now fully open.”

Very few details about the accident have been released at this stage.

More to follow.