FIVE people were injured in a two-car crash on the A44 near Monkland - three were flown to hospitals in Birmingham and Bristol.

Three air ambulances were called upon to airlift patients from the scene following the incident on Sunday.

West Midlands Ambulance Service was called to the junction of the A44 and A4110 at Monkland at just before 2.45pm.

The road was closed for several hours.

Two Midlands air ambulances and a Welsh air ambulance together with three ambulances and two paramedic support officers in a rapid response cars attended the scene.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “Crews responded to a serious two-car road traffic collision at about 2.45pm.

“A woman believed to be in her fifties was treated for back and leg injuries. A man believed to be in his twenties was also treated for pelvic and abdominal injuries. Both patients were taken to Hereford Hospital by land ambulance.

“The Welsh Air Ambulance crew treated a man in his twenties for internal injuries. The patient was airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

“The Cosford based Midlands Air Ambulance with a MERIT doctor aboard airlifted a man in his twenties who had been trapped in his vehicle. The patient was taken to the Queen Elizabeth trauma centre with chest and spinal injuries.

“A man in his thirties was airlifted by the second Midlands Air Ambulance to Southmead Hospital in Bristol with chest injuries.”