Five people taken to hospital after five vehicle crash in Durham

Police, paramedics and firefighters rushed to Hallgarth Street just before 1.15pm on Saturday (July 5).

The road was cordoned off between New Elvet and the roundabout with the A177 Stockton Road.

A road sign appeared to have been bent over at the top end of the cordon. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

A red car at the centre of the cordon appeared to have had its roof cut off and several cars down the street appeared to have been hit.

Five people have been taken to hospital - four to the RVI in Newcastle and one to University Hospital North Durham.

Parked cars also appear to have been damaged in the incident (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO)

Several police and ambulance crews attended. (Image: THE NORTHERN ECHO) A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called to a five-vehicle road traffic incident on Hallgarth Street, Durham at 1.13pm.

"We dispatched five double crewed ambulances, a duty officer, a clinical team leader and three vehicles from our Hazardous Area Response Team.

"Four patients were taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary and one taken to University Hospital of North Durham."

Paul Smith, 59, who has lived on Hallgarth for four years told the Echo he'd never seen anything like it.

The end of the cordon on New Elvet. (Image: KAYLEIGH FRASER) "All I heard was a loud bang," he said.

The County Durham Fire and Rescue Service confirmed they were "worked closely with police and ambulance crews".

"Two appliances attended from Durham and Spennymoor and on arrival worked closely with the police and ambulance crews. The incident resulted in five people being transported to hospital for treatment," a spokesperson said.

In a statement on social media Durham Police confirmed the road was closed with diversions in place.

It read: "Hallgarth Street in Durham City is currently closed in both directions for an ongoing Police incident. There is a diversion in place via the Whitechurch Traffic lights. We will advise when we are in a position to reopen the road."