A690 crash closes off Houghton Cut to traffic heading for Sunderland after driver suffers serious injuries in crash

Northumbria Police has said the emergency services are on the scene of the crash, which has led in the A690 being closed eastbound at the bottom of Houghton Cut,

Traffic is being diverted from the A690 onto the A182 to follow a natural diversion.

A force spokesperson said: “At about 11.25am this morning police received a report that a vehicle had left the road on the A690 and come to rest on the road side.

“Inquiries into the circumstances of the collision are ongoing but the driver is believed to have suffered serious injuries.

“The A690 has been closed eastbound at the bottom of Houghton Cut with traffic being diverted from the A690 onto the A182.”

North East Live Traffic, which has shared video and photos of the scene, has said there were delays in the area and some drivers caught inside the closure and would be moved by police onto the detour via the A182 through Houghton town centre.

It has said a further closure of the road would be carried out in the westbound direction while the damaged vehicle is recovered.

The North East Ambulance Service confirmed it was called to the scene at 11.34am to a report of a collision and it sent a double-crewed ambulance, a rapid response paramedic and two of its Hazardous Area Response Teams (Hart) with the incident ongoing.

Go North East has diverted services wards Houghton via New Herrington and Newbottle.