A CRASH on the A40 involving a private ambulance left two people suffering spinal injuries and shut the road for four hours yesterday.

Police closed the road in both directions following the crash at about 8am at Barnard Gate, near Eynsham.

A 4x4 green Mitsubishi ambulance, a cement mixer truck and a purple Mini were involved in the collision.

The drivers of the ambulance and lorry were taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, with suspected spinal injuries. Paramedics also treated a number of walking wounded at the scene. Firefighters cut a woman from the ambulance.

Meanwhile, another woman had managed to escape from the Mini before the fire service arrived. The private ambulance was a Southern Regional Ambulance Service vehicle and was on its way from Maidenhead to Gloucestershire.

Southern Regional Ambulance Service would not comment on the incident. However, it is not thought any patients were being carried in the ambulance at the time.

Queues stretched back along the A40 in both directions. There were also tailbacks in Witney as drivers tried to find alternate routes.

There were also reports of lorry drivers trying to get around the queues by driving through Eynsham.

Mundra Thamak, who works at the Total garage on the A40 near Eynsham, said: “The queues were bad. There was a delay of about an hour, which was still going on until about 1pm.”

Jordan March, who works at bikers’ accessories shop Hein Gericke along the A40, said: “I was stuck in traffic on the way to work at about 8.25am. Traffic had come to a standstill and a fire engine and paramedic flew by.”

Sophie Watt, who works at The Evenlode pub off the A40, said: “I live in Carterton and we had to go all the way though Witney to avoid the queues. It was gridlocked in Witney, by Eynsham Hall along the A4095 and then through Freeland.”

Police reopened the A40 at about noon.