Two people were taken to hospital with "potentially life-threatening" injuries after a "serious" crash on a roundabout in Halliwell.

Emergency services, including police and ambulance crews, were called after the crash between Gaskell Street, Merehall Drive and Brownlow Way at around 5am on Sunday.

The number of vehicles involved in the incident has not been confirmed but it appears that at least one car was badly damaged after hitting a tree.

Police were forced to cordon off the road for a period of time on Sunday morning.

READ MORE: 'Very serious' crash reported at Halliwell roundabout

North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) later confirmed its crews were called in the early hours and that four people were taken to hospital following the crash, two of whom had potentially life-threatening injuries.

The NWAS spokesperson said five ambulances, two response vehicles, an advanced paramedic and an operational commander were sent to the incident following a call at 5.15am.

Speaking to The Bolton News on Sunday, Cllr Rabiya Jiva of Halliwell said: “This looks to be a very serious incident and I would like to assure people in the community that I am aware and will be keeping a close watch as more details become available.

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“We don’t yet know the full circumstances, but I have said on many occasions before that road safety is one of the key concerns people in the community have raised and has always been one of my top priorities.

“For now we can only hope that everyone who may have been caught up in this incident will be alright and I encourage anyone who may have seen what happened to help the police with any investigations they may need to carry out.”

Firefighters from Bolton North and Bolton Central Fire Stations confirmed that they had not been called to the scene.