TWO casualties had to be rushed to hospital with serious injuries following a three-car car collision at the weekend.

Police, fire and ambulance crews were all called to the scene of the incident on Hedingham Road near Halstead on Saturday.

Emergency services reported three cars had been involved in a serious crash which required support from all three emergency services.

Essex Police called in support from Essex County Fire and Rescue at 5.13pm.

Two crews of on-call firefighters from Halstead responded to the calls for support.

Firefighters set to work to free two people who were trapped in the wreckage.

A spokesman for Essex County Fire and Rescue said: “Firefighters rescued two casualties following a road traffic collision in Halstead.

“Crews were called by police to Hedingham Road at 5.13pm after three cars were involved in a collision.

“Firefighters used specialist cutting equipment to free two casualties who were trapped in one of the vehicles.

“They were left in the care of the ambulance service at 6.22pm.”

The East of England Ambulance Service said six ambulance crews were called to the scene at 5.40pm.

They included teams from the hazardous area response team and Essex and Herts Air Ambulance.

The ambulance service said both casualties were in a serious condition and were rushed to hospital.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “Two ambulances, two vehicles from the hazardous area response team, a rapid response vehicle and a response vehicle from the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance attended a road traffic collision on Hedingham Road, near Halstead, just before 5.40pm on Saturday.

“Two patients were transported to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in a serious condition, with medics from the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance travelling with one of the crews to provide additional support.”

n Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is appealing for on-call firefighters at Halstead fire station.

The team which responded to Saturday's incident were on-call firefighters.

For more information, visit join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call.