A FAMILY of five were all taken to hospital after a two-car crash at an accident blackspot.

A black Land Rover Defender and a grey Mercedes estate collided at the notorious Trumpet Crossroads near Ledbury just after 10pm last night (Wednesday, May 27), leaving the road closed for six hours.

The Mercedes - carrying a mum, dad, and their three kids - was described as "badly damaged" by West Midlands Ambulance Service.

When emergency services arrived, the driver, a 48-year-old man, was trapped in the wreckage and had sustained a pelvic injury and had pains in his chest.

A crew from the Hereford and Worcester Fire Service spent an hour and 40 minutes cutting him free from the wreckage, after which he was taken to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

One of his daughters, aged 12, had bruises to her chest caused by her seatbelt.

She was immobilised with a neck collar and spinal board as a precaution before being taken to Hereford County Hospital.

The three other occupants were a 43-year-old woman who had sustained a serious facial injury which paramedics believe was a fractured jaw.

A 10-year-old boy suffered some chest tenderness from where his seatbelt had tightened in the impact and a 15-year-old girl had a minor head injury.

All three were also taken to Hereford County Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

The ambulance service sent three ambulances, a community paramedic, a MERIT trauma doctor and two doctors from Mercia Accident Rescue Service (MARS) to the scene.

This morning, West Mercia Police launched an appeal for witnesses following the crash.

Anyone who may have witnessed the incident, or who may have seen either vehicle beforehand, is asked to call Hereford Operational Policing Unit on 101, quoting incident number 707 of May 27.