The A47 between Dereham and Swaffham has reopened following a crash between a car and lorry on the Scarning section of the road yesterday.

A man in his 40s had to be rescued and taken to hospital.

A police spokesperson today said there were no fatalities in the crash, and but some damage had been done to the road.

Though a police spokesman had yesterday said that the A47 was set to reopen at around 8.30pm last night, the road only re-opened between 3am and 5.30am today, having been closed in both directions for at least 18 hours.

The spokesman said yesterday: "It is taking our officers a number of hours to remove the HGV from the road because of the impact factor of the crash.

Lorry-overturns-during-crash-at-Scarning

Dereham Times: The A47, pictured this morning, remains closed in both directions at ScarningThe A47, pictured this morning, remains closed in both directions at Scarning (Image: Archant 2021)

Police were called to the A47, between the A1065 (near Swaffham) and the A1075 (near Dereham), at about 8.43am on Tuesday to reports of a collision between a car and an HGV.

The HGV, which was overturned onto the verge of the road in the crash, then began to leak fuel.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “Two ambulances, one vehicle from the Hazardous Area Response Team, the East Anglian Air Ambulance and a critical care paramedic attended a road traffic collision on the A47 at Scarning just after 9am.

"An adult male was transported by land to the Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital for further assessment and treatment.”

The East Anglian Air Ambulance had been dispatched from Norwich at 8.50am, with the fire service was called out at 8.48am.

Four fire engines from Watton, Dereham and Carrow helped to extricate a man from his vehicle, as well as assisting with casualty care and making the scene safe.

The last fire engine left the scene at 10.57am.

Dereham Times: Vehicle recovery services assist with the overturned HGV on the verge of the A47 at Scarning.Vehicle recovery services assist with the overturned HGV on the verge of the A47 at Scarning. (Image: Archant 2021)

The stretch of road has been the site of several accidents in recent years.

In 2019, a van driver died after his vehicle collided with a lorry near to where the road meets Draytonhall Lane, which led to fresh calls for safety improvements.

In 2018, a victim had to be airlifted to hospital following a major collision on the same stretch of road, and three vehicles were also involved in a crash on the road near Scarning in 2017.