FIVE people were taken to hospital after a collision involving two cars and a van in Simonstone yesterday afternoon.

The incident happened at 2.10pm in Whalley Road, at its junction with Lodgegate.

Police said a van travelling along Whalley Road towards Burnley collided with the two vehicles heading in the opposite direction.

The driver of the van was Mark Wilkinson, 41, of Cambridge Drive, Hapton, who was taken to Accrington Hospital suffering from cuts and bruises.

David Sumner, 48, of Standen Road, Clitheroe, was driving the Vauxhall Astra and was taken to Burnley General Hospital with cuts and bruises.

His passengers were Carol Sumner, 55, who suffered a broken left leg, Sharon Sumner, 12, and Georgia Ottoti, two, who were both take to hospital with cuts and bruising. They also live in Standen Road.

The driver of the third car, which was a Vauxhall Vectra, was Christopher Stott, 36, of The Acres, White Acre Lane, in Barrow. He was not injured.

Whalley Road was closed for about two and a half hours until all the vehicles had been removed.

Police said injuries were not life-threatening. An investigation is under way into the cause of the accident.