OFF-DUTY medical staff leapt into action after a serious head-on road accident which closed a major route through Dorset.

A car full of nurses travelling through the county after a hen party weekend and two ambulance assistants on the way home from training stopped to help at the scene of the accident in which three people were injured.

One driver’s injuries were deemed so serious he was airlifted to hospital by the county’s air ambulance.

Meanwhile, a woman who was trapped had to be freed by firefighters.

Police said the collision happened on the A35 west of Winterbourne Abbas outside Wellbottom Lodge, which is near the Kingston Russell turning.

To allow emergency service personnel to work at the scene police closed the A35 between Bridport and the Monkey’s Jump roundabout outside Dorchester and traffic was diverted.

The closure was in place for over two hours and had a knock-on effect on yesterday afternoon’s rush hour traffic.

Police said a man who had been driving a Toyota panel van registered to a Dorchester company was taken to Dorset County Hospital by the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance suffering serious abdominal injuries.

A woman aged in her 50s who had been driving a silver BMW 525 and suffered serious leg fractures and chest injuries had to be released from her car by firefighters.

Crews from Dorchester and Bridport used hydraulic cutting equipment to remove the roof of the vehicle, which is registered to a Hemel Hempstead company.

A man aged 57 who was a passenger in the car suffered whiplash and slight injuries to his ankle.

They were both taken to Dorset County Hospital by land ambulance.

Clinical Support Officer for South Western Ambulance, David Toman, said: “At the scene of the collision two off-duty emergency care assistants from Bridport stopped on the way back from training at Dorchester and gave first aid to the casualties.

“They were also assisted by a car full of nurses travelling through the county after a hen party weekend.”

He said a first response officer on a motorbike, a paramedic in a response car, two ambulances, and a duty officer all attended the scene.