A car was left up in flames in the early hours of this morning after a collision that has left a rural County Durham road closed for hours on end.

Emergency services were called to the scene at Lady's Piece Lane, between High and Low Pittington just before 4am this morning (September 25) after reports of a crash that left the vehicle on fire

The road was subsequently closed by officers at the scene while they dealt with the incident, as they announced on Facebook that the road would be closed "for the foreseeable".

Read more: Durham Police impose dispersal order imposed Stanley

The Northern Echo: Lady's Piece Lane.Lady's Piece Lane. (Image: GOOGLE MAPS)

Firefighters spent an hour tackling the blaze with two engines before leaving the scene at nearly 4:30am.

No update has been given by police on the re-opening of the road.

A Durham Constabulary spokesperson said: "Police were called at 3.35am today to a one-vehicle collision on Lady’s Piece Lane, at High Pittington.

"Colleagues from the fire service also attended due to the vehicle being on fire.

"The road remains closed while the scene is cleared, and motorists are asked to avoid the area."

Get more content including the stories that matter to your community from The Northern Echo for just £1 for 1 month for a limited time only here.

A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said:

"We received a call at 3:26am this morning (25th September), to reports of a vehicle fire, following a Road Traffic Collision.

"Two appliances attended the incident. One from Durham and another from Wheatley Hill, alongside colleagues from Durham Constabulary.

"Our crews used Breathing Apparatus to extinguish the fire and made the vehicle safe. They left the scene at 4:26am.”