EMERGENCY service crews from across the north have been called to a "serious" motorway crash involving a minibus and a lorry.

Firefighters, paramedics and at least two air ambulances are at the scene of the collision on the M62 westbound, near junction 32, at Pontefract.

A lorry driver has been arrested and 19 people have been injured, six of them seriously.

The collision happened at around 11.30am.

Rescuers are working to free those who remain trapped, West Yorkshire Police said.

The minibus was believed to be carrying a group of around 20 women, all from the West Yorkshire area, police said.

A spokeswoman for the Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust said: "We received an emergency call at 11.31am today to reports of a serious collision between a mini-coach and an HGV at junction 32 of the M62, close to Castleford, West Yorkshire.

"Due to the scale of the incident we have enacted our major incident plan and dispatched a number of resources to the scene including ambulances, our hazardous area response team, doctors and air ambulance.

"Ambulance clinicians are providing treatment at the scene and are working closely with their emergency service colleagues.

"At this time the number of patients is unknown."

The Great North Air Ambulance Service confirmed that two of its helicopters have been sent to the scene from Cumbria and County Durham.

There are reports that two other air ambulances have also been called in.