Two people were seriously injured in a crash in Woodford Green in the early hours of this morning when a van hit debris from an earlier accident.

A driver had ploughed into railings near Woodford County High School, in Woodford New Road.

The wrecked flat-bed truck was surrounded by cones and lights while police dealt with the incident and a man was clearing up the debris at 3am when another van smashed into the back of the first.

It shunted the wreckage forward and into the worker.

The female passenger of the second van, which was carrying milk, was crushed and had to be cut out by firefighters.

Crew manager Pete Miller was on the scene with teams from Woodford Fire Station.

He said: “It was a father and daughter in the milk van.

“The young woman was trapped by her legs and we had to cut her out.

“The crash pushed the van over the guy cleaning up and trapped him against the railings and broke his leg.”

Two ambulances, two responders and the air ambulance were called to the scene.

The woman and 27-year-old man were taken to the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, as a priority with leg injuries.

Redbridge Police are investigating.