FOUR people were taken to hospital after a crash on the A64 near York last night, in which one of the vehicles caught fire.

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service said the two vehicle collision happened on the eastbound carriageway near Whitwell-on-the-Hill at 8.19pm.

It said crews from Malton and Huntington responded and found no one trapped, but several casualties were 'walking wounded.'

It said the firefighters wearing breathing appartus used a hose reel jet to extinguish a fire in one of the vehicles, and then assisted police and ambulance crews with scene safety.

North Yorkshire Police tweeted that the crash had blocked entry to the A64 in both directions at Barton Hill / Castle Howard and advised motorists to avoid the area and take an alternative route.

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said today that one of the vehicles was reported to have overturned.

It said four ambulances were sent to the scene and they took four patients to York Hospital.