A POLICE officer was airlifted to hospital after his patrol car overturned on the Thanet Way.

The accident happened in the London-bound carriageway near the Chestfield tunnel on Tuesday afternoon.

The 30-year-old male officer, from Beltinge, and his female colleague, who was also injured during the crash, had been called to the area to investigate reports of debris on the road.

A police spokesman said the details of the incident were not clear.

She said: "The weather conditions are described as poor in the report but we are not sure exactly how the accident happened. There were two other vehicles there, a Suzuki Vitara and a Ford Ka, and we are working to establish what their involvement was."

Firefighters had to cut the officers out of the car and the female officer, a 42-year-old from Herne Bay, was taken to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate by land ambulance.

Her condition is described as stable while the male officer is said to be in a serious but stable condition.

The drivers of the other vehicles were taken to hospital suffering from shock.

Officers from the Serious Crash Investigation Unit were called to the scene and the road was closed for several hours.