A POLICE officer has been taken to hospital for treatment after the van he was travelling collided with a car.

A woman and two young children also involved in the crash suffered minor injuries, police said.

The alarm was raised just before 5pm after the collision on Bridge Road in Stockton town centre.

A spokeswoman for Cleveland Police said: "A police transit van was in a collision with a white Toyota Aygo at around 4.40pm today.

"A police officer who was driving the van was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries to his hand, and the occupants of the Toyota, who were a woman and two young children, were checked at the scene for minor injuries which did not need immediate hospital attention.

"Cleveland Fire Brigade were called to remove fluid from the road and both vehicles are in the process of being recovered."

The incident was attended by police, fire engines and North East Ambulance Service.

A spokesman for Cleveland Fire Service said: “We made sure the area was safe.”