A passenger has been flown to hospital after a car fell from a bridge and landed in the middle of a busy motorway.

Durham Police said the crash happened at the Bowburn interchange on the A1(M) at 10.35am on Friday.

The force said a vehicle which was driving on the A177 flyover left the carriageway and landed on its roof in the central reservation below.

The driver of the car freed themselves from the wreckage but the passenger had to be cut free.

No other injuries have been reported, police said.

The site was close to the scene of a horrific fireball crash which killed three people in July and saw lorry driver Ion Onut, 41, from Galashiels, Scotland, jailed earlier this month for three counts of causing death by dangerous driving.

The North East Ambulance Service said it requested help from the Great North Air Ambulance.

A spokeswoman said: “Two patients were taken to hospital for further treatment; the first patient was taken by road to the University Hospital North Durham (UHND), and the second patient was flown to the Royal Victoria Infirmary Major Trauma Centre (RVI MTC).”

The A1(M) and the A177 were closed in both directions.