A FAMILY of five needed emergency treatment last night after the car they were in ended up in a field following a serious collision near Ledbury.

Emergency services were called to the crossroads of the A438 and A4172 in Trumpet at 10pm following the collision between a black Land Rover Defender, which was travelling from Ledbury towards Ashperton, and a grey Mercedes Estate which was travelling from the Gloucester direction towards Ashperton.

Three ambulances, a community paramedic, a MERIT trauma doctor and two doctors from Mercia Accident Rescue Service (MARS) attended, as well as police and fire crews.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokeswoman said when emergency services arrived they found a badly damaged car, the Mercedes, in a field which had reportedly been involved in a collision with a second car.

“The five occupants of the badly damaged car, a father, mother and three children, were all conscious and breathing," the spokeswoman said.

“A 12-year-old girl, who had already got out of the car when emergency services arrived, had bruising to her chest caused by her seatbelt and was complaining of some neck tenderness.

"She was immobilised with a neck collar and spinal board as a precaution before being taken to Hereford County Hospital.”

The drivers side of the car sustained the most damage and the driver, a 48-year-old man, was trapped in the wreckage.

Upon assessment, ambulance staff and medics found he had sustained a suspected pelvic injury and pain in his chest and needed to be carefully extricated from the vehicle.

“The medical team worked to immobilise the man and administer pain relief to keep him comfortable whilst the fire service worked around them to cut the man out of the wreckage,” the spokeswoman said.

“After an hour and 40 minutes, the man was released and transferred to Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, a regional trauma centre, for emergency treatment. The MERIT doctor travelled in the back of the ambulance to continue treatment en route.”

A 43-year-old woman sustained a serious facial injury and crews suspected she had fractured her jaw.

A 10-year-old boy suffered some chest tenderness from where his seatbelt had tightened in the impact and a 15-year-old girl had a minor head injury.

All three were taken to Hereford County Hospital for further assessment and treatment.

Police are urging anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who may have seen either vehicle beforehand to contact Hereford Operational Policing Unit on 101 quoting incident number 707 of 27th May.