FIVE people have been taken to hospital after a head-on smash.

A blue Ford Focus and a silver Nissan Almera collided on Beechcroft Avenue, Linford, at about 8.30am, closing the road for an hour and a half.

The driver of the Almera and a child in the front passenger seat were treated for spinal pain and the man was later found to have suffered from a neck injury.

An eight-year-old girl in the back seat of the car was treated for a facial laceration and all were taken to Basildon Hospital.

Although the driver of the Focus sustained only minor injuries and the child passenger appeared to be unhurt, they too were taken to hospital as a precaution.

Paramedic Brad Lane, who attended the crash, said: "Everyone was out of the cars when we arrived and we immediately treated a man with a neck injury and an eight-year-old girl with a facial injury.

“All five casualties were taken to Basildon Hospital including three others who needed to be checked over."