A MAN and woman were left seriously injured after they were involved in two separate accidents on the same rural road yesterday afternoon (Saturday, December 7).

A 37-year-old woman suffered severe head and pelvic injuries and had to be airlifted to hospital after her Ford Focus collided with a Nissan Infinity on the A67 road between Winston and Barnard Castle in County Durham shortly after 1pm.

Later that day, a middle-aged man received multiple injuries when his Daewoo vehicle left the same road at Gainford and crashed into a tree.

Fire crews from Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale and a special rescue unit from Bishop Auckland, attended the first incident, along with the police, ambulance service and the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

Firefighters had to free the woman from the wreckage of her vehicle, which had come to a rest on its side in a ditch.

She was assessed by a GNAAS doctor at the roadside, before being airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

The driver and passenger in the Nissan Infinity were treated for minor injuries at the scene.

At 5.30pm, the emergency services were recalled to the A67 to assist the man who was trapped in his car following the accident.

Incident commander Phil Innis, of County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue, said it had been complex rescue.

“It was a difficult extrication as the man had suffered multiple injuries, including spinal and pelvic injuries and a broken leg,” he said.

“This made it more complex but it was successful.”

The man, who is from the Barnard Castle area, was taken to the James Cook University Hospital by ambulance.