Police officers investigating a serious road traffic collision in Sturminster Marshall are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to come forward.

The incident happened at around 1.50pm on Saturday on the A350 Blandford Road near the Golden Fox.

It involved two vehicles – a green Land Rover Defender travelling northbound toward Blandford and a grey Nissan NV300 van travelling southbound toward Poole.

The driver of the Land Rover, a 20-year-old Poole man, was taken by air ambulance to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries. The van driver, a 59-year-old man from the Salisbury area, was taken to Poole Hospital with a head injury.

A road closure was put in place at the scene.

PC Tracey Downer, of the traffic unit, said: “An investigation is underway to establish the full circumstances of the collision.

“I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident, or captured anything relevant on dashcam, and has not yet spoken to officers to please contact Dorset Police.

“Also, I would like to hear from anyone who witnessed that manner of driving of either vehicle prior to the collision.

“My thanks goes to motorists for their patience and understanding while we responded to the incident. The road closure was absolutely necessary to enable emergency services to deal with the scene safely."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email at scit@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting occurence number 55210106019. Alternatively, to stay 100 per cent anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call freephone 0800 555 111.