TONS of potatoes and an overturned lorry which blocked a York main road have finally been cleared away, allowing the road to re-open.

The A166 York to Stamford Bridge road at Dunnington was shut in both directions from before 3pm until 7.50pm today after the lorry tipped on to its side, spilling its load all over the road, and also collided with a car.

A digger was used to scoop up the potatoes and load them into another lorry before an attempt could be made to right the lorry and remove it from the scene.

The damaged saloon car was taken away at about 4.30pm.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said crews from York and Huntington had assisted at the scene, but no one was trapped.

"One person has been taken to hospital with minor injuries and two others received treatment on scene," added a spokeswoman.

A local resident, Steven Doughty, said the lorry appeared to have overturned on a bend in the road, with many potatoes also ending up in a nearby field. 

He said there had been moves at one stage to straighten out a couple of sharp bends in the road but this had been dropped in favour of introducing a 40mph speed limit.

The A166 was blocked by police at its entry from the Grimston Bar roundabout and at its junction with a road into Dunnington, with vehicles diverted through the village.