Four men needed hospital treatment last night after three of them were trapped in a car which overturned on a dual carriageway near Bicester.

The accident happened at 9.45pm on the A41 dual carriageway, at the roundabout half way between junction nine of the M40 and Bicester.

Group manager Stuart Garner, of Oxfordshire Fire Service, said the accident happened when the Audi car went over the roundabout, at the entrance to a new housing estate, instead of going round it.

The car ended up on its roof and fire crews used hydraulic cutting gear to free three of the four men.

Mr Garner said 20 firefighters attended the incident, and added: “The four men, who are believed to be in their twenties, were in the Audi car which went straight across the roundabout instead of going around it and the car ended up on its roof.

“The driver may have lost control of the vehicle as he approached the roundabout too fast.

“There is a temporary speed limit of 40mph on the dual carriageway and a 20mph limit on the approach to the roundabout.”

Mr Garner said the force of the impact caused “significant deformity” to the vehicle, creating very limited space in which to work.

He added: “The casualties were quickly removed and able to receive further specialist medical care.”

Mr Garner urged drivers to heed all warning signs, particularly those relating to speed.

Fire crews worked at the scene for 90 minutes with paramedics and police accident investigators.

Gill Hodgetts, a spokesman for South Central Ambulance, said four ambulance crews attended the crash.

She added: “Four men were taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital suffering serious multiple injuries. One of the men was aged 26.”

Ms Hodgetts did not have any further information about the latest condition of the victims.