Police are appealing for witnesses after a head-on crash near Dorchester left a man with serious injuries.

At around 9.15pm yesterday (Monday), Dorset Police was called to attend a crash on the A37 Yeovil Road at Melbury Osmond.

It involved two vehicles going in opposite directions, which collided head on – a Fiat Stilo travelling north and a Volvo V40 travelling south. Officers believe a third vehicle was in the area at the time of the collision, which may have entered the A37 from a side road.

The driver of the Fiat, a man in his 40s, was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries. His front seat passenger, a man in his 30s, and the driver of the Volvo, a man in his 20s, were taken to Dorset County Hospital.

Collision investigators attended the scene to carry out a full examination and a road closure was put in place.

Police Constable Michael Burt, of the traffic unit, said: "We would like to speak with any drivers in the area at the time of the collision and anyone with relevant dashcam footage.

"I particularly would like to identify the third vehicle involved as the occupants could be potential witnesses to the collision.

"Finally, I would like to thank members of the public for their patience and understanding while the road closure was in place. This was absolutely necessary to allow the emergency services to respond and for us to carry out an examination of the collision scene."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk, via email [email protected] or by calling 101, quoting incident number 22:714. Alternatively, to stay 100 per cent anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or call Freephone 0800 555 111.