An ambulance answering an emergency call was involved in a crash with a parcels van which led to a major road near Cromer being blocked today.The accident, which happened about 11.

An ambulance answering an emergency call was involved in a crash with a parcels van which led to a major road near Cromer being blocked today.

The accident, which happened about 11.30am on the A148 Holt Road, caused major traffic chaos on the western side of the seaside town.

The ambulance suffered major front end damage and was left with one of cab doors hanging on be a thread after the crash near the Pinewood Caravan Park.

A spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance NHS Trust said an investigation into the crash would be launched in conjunction with the police.

Brick rubble was thrown across the road at the accident scene after a nearby skip was shunted along by the impact ripping up verges as it went.

The vehicles came to a stop facing each other with the DHL van at a 90degree angle to the direction of the road.

The van driver was pulled from his cab and laid on a nearby driveway until another ambulance arrived.

Local resident Brenda Ridd, whose house was opposite the scene of the crash said: “I heard an almighty bang. We came out and the driver of the van was lying in my driveway.

“The ambulance driver was in a state of absolute shock, and just sat on nearby banking,” she added.

Three police cars, three fire crews and three ambulances were initially called to the scene.

The van driver was taken to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital with possible head injuries, and on a spinal board.

The two-man ambulance crew were also taken to hospital, but were said to be shaken rather than seriously injured.

The traffic problems were compounded when nearer town, close to the Sandy Lane junction, another two vehicles were involved in a collision about an hour later, which injured a woman and baby.

The crash comes just two weeks after a crash at the Felbrigg road junction on the same road, involving a van and a bicycle, led to residents start a petition calling for measures to slow traffic and reduce the risk of accidents.