Northumbria Police have issued a statement following a huge crash on the A1 involving multiple police cars.
A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: "Shortly before 2:30am today (Wednesday) we received a report of a multi-vehicle collision on the A1 northbound near the Derwent Haugh Road junction, Gateshead.
"Emergency services are currently in attendance. A section of the road is closed in both directions – there are diversions in place from the Derwent Haugh Road junction northbound and the A69 roundabout southbound.
"Motorists should use alternative routes where possible," the statement added.
The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) confirmed that five people were taken to hospital following the crash. A spokesperson for NEAS said in a statement: "We received a call at 2.29am on Wednesday 9 April to reports of a road traffic collision on the A1 northbound near Denton, Newcastle.
"We dispatched five ambulance crews, a specialist paramedic, a duty officer, two crews from our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) and requested support from our colleagues at the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) who attended by road.
"Five patients were transported to hospital for further treatment," they added.
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