FOUR people in their 70s and five others have been taken to hospital this afternoon (Tues) after being involved in car crashes in North Somerset.

Ambulance crews dealt with two accidents in the space of half an hour, including an accident between a bus and a car with four passengers.

At about 2.30pm Great Western Ambulance Service (GWAS) was called to a two-car collision on Stock Lane (B3133) in Langford, where six elderly patients were involved.

A husband and wife in their 70s were taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol after the man suffered a head injury and his wife suffered chest injuries.

Another married couple in the car, also in their 70s, were taken to Weston General Hospital.

Two women in the other car were taken to Weston’s hospital in a third ambulance with minor chest injuries.

The road was closed by police while the vehicles were moved.

Richard McDonald, GWAS paramedic, said: “The collision occurred on a bend in the road in wet weather.

“With the number of patients, the incident could have been far more serious, but fortunately all the injuries appear minor.”

An ambulance initially sent as a back-up to the crash was flagged down en-route by a bus driver at about 3pm after his vehicle collided with a car on the A370 at Congresbury.

Three women and a man had minor injuries and one was taken to Weston General Hospital on a spinal board as a precaution.

The bus had no passengers on board.