Three people were left trapped inside a car after it careered off the road.

A man, a woman and a young girl were travelling on the Maidstone-bound carriageway of the A229 at Blue Bell Hill on Wednesday when the accident happened.

Eye witnesses say the Red Peugeot looked as if it had rolled several times before ending up on its side around 15 yards from the road. The female driver, aged 33, was trapped underneath the car and had to be airlifted to hospital.

Emergency services, including Kent Police, the Kent Air Ambulance, paramedics and three fire crews, were called to the scene shortly before 3pm.

The road was initially closed in both directions to allow for the air ambulance to land.

The Chatham-bound side was re-opened shortly afterwards but the opposite carriageway remained shut while the emergency services attempted to free the trio causing lengthy rush-hour queues.

Firefighters had to stabilise the car before using cutting gear to gain access to the vehicle

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue said: “The car had tipped on to its side and was underneath the cliff face so it was very difficulty to get to the casualty inside.

“We had to use cutting equipment to cut away branches surrounding the vehicle. We then attached strops to the car and lifted it off the carriageway by about a foot to free the woman.”

It took around 40 minutes to free the driver. She was airlifted to Maidstone Hospital. The male passenger and the child, thought to be around eight years old, were safely freed from the vehicle. She suffered a collar bone injury.

The man was taken to Maidstone Hospital by land ambulance.

The road re-opened around 4.30pm.

A spokesman for the Kent Air Ambulance said: “We were called to the scene at 2.48pm and were there in around 10 minutes.

“The woman had head and arm injuries and her legs were trapped underneath the car. The journey to the hospital took just three minutes.”

A police spokesman said all three casualties were not thought to have life-threatening injuries.