AN ELDERLY woman is in a critical condition in hospital following a crash on the A31 in East Dorset.

Police, fire and ambulance crews attended the scene of the collision involving a blue Honda Civic estate and a blue and green Ford Transit van in Sturminster Marshall at around 3pm on Thursday, July 29.

Two women had to be freed from the Honda before being rushed to Dorset County Hospital for treatment.

Dorset Police said it was subsequently confirmed that one of the women, aged in her 90s, is in a critical condition. Her family has been informed.

The other woman, aged in her 50s, sustained injuries that were not believed to be serious.

The driver of the Ford, a man aged in his 60s, was taken to Poole Hospital for treatment to injuries that were not believed to be serious.

Road closures were put in place as the emergency services responded to the incident and were lifted shortly after 7pm.

Officers investigating the serious injury road traffic collision are appealing for witnesses or anyone with relevant dashcam footage to come forward.

Sergeant Rhys Griffiths, of the traffic unit, said: “We are carrying out a full investigation to establish the circumstances of this collision and I would urge any witnesses who have not already spoken to police to please contact us.

“I would also ask anyone who was driving in the area and has dashcam fitted to their vehicles to please check their footage for anything of relevance.

“Finally, I appreciate the closure of a main trunk road will have caused inconvenience for many, but this was absolutely necessary to allow the emergency services to respond to the incident, for the vehicles to be recovered and for the scene to be made safe. I would like to thank members of the public for their patience and understanding while the closures were in place.”

Anyone with information should contact Dorset Police at dorset.police.uk, by emailing at scit@dorset.pnn.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting incident number 29:465.

Alternatively, to stay anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call freephone 0800 555 111.