FOUR people were taken to hospital after a crash in Chorley this morning.

All three emergency services were called to Briers Brow just before 8am after a smash involving three cars, a Hyundai Sante Fe 4x4, a silver VW Polo and a black Mini Cooper.

Firefighters cut one casualty from a car, and four people were taken to Royal Preston Hospital. Three were suffering from minor injuries, a police spokesman said.

A spokeswoman for the North West Ambulance Service said the hospital was placed on standby for the arrival of the fourth patient, a man in his late 40s who suffered serious neck injuries in the crash.

The accident left glass and plastic strewn across the road, which remained closed at 8.20am, the police spokesman added.