TWO people had to be airlifted to hospital following a three-car crash near Stow yesterday afternoon.

Ambulances, police and the fire service were called to the scene at a crossroads between Cotswold Farm Park and Huntsman’s Quarry, known locally as Chalk Hill, at about 5.30pm yesterday.

Drivers and passengers had to be cut free following the crash between Guiting Power and Lower Swell involved a grey Nissan Qashqai driven by a 60-year-old man from the local area, a silver Vauxhall Vivaro van driven by a 44-year-old from Worcestershire and a silver Ford Focus driven by a 59-year-old man from the Bristol area.

A 52-year-old female passenger in the Ford Focus was airlifted to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford and the driver of the Nissan was taken to Bristol’s Southmead Hospital.

A third patient was also taken to hospital by land ambulance and a fourth treated at the scene.

The conditions of the patients are not currently known.

The B4068 towards Temple Guiting and Naunton was closed for several hours and road blocks put in place on B4077 at Lower Slaughter while the accident was cleared.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call Gloucestershire police on 101 quoting incident 325-s-270815.