A POLICE officer was taken to hospital with minor injuries after his parked car was hit when he stopped to warn drivers of another crash.

Motorists were lucky to escape relatively unscathed after a string of collisions involving a van, which hit three vehicles as it swerved between lanes on a busy dual carriageway through Bricket Wood.

But the policeman was hurt when his car was involved in a separate smash after he parked to warn drivers of the chaos ahead.

Accident investigators are looking into the series of accidents, which happened on the westbound section of the A405 North Orbital Road just before the M1 bridge just before 9am on Tuesday, February 5.

The main vehicle involved was a silver Ford Transit van travelling westbound, which is said to have pulled out unexpectedly in front of a Daf lorry causing it to hit the back of the van and then plunge into the central reservation.

The transit van then moved back into lane one where it hit a red Mercedes Vito van just outside a Little Chef restaurant before swerving and hitting a blue Rover.

Meanwhile the lorry came to a standstill in the central reservation after causing extensive damage to the crash barrier. The driver was unharmed but in shock.

The driver of the red van was taken to hospital suffering from whiplash but a police spokesman said it was incredible that nobody was more seriously hurt in the multi-vehicle incident.

A police officer who was was in the area at the time summoned help and stopped his car in lane one in front of the stricken lorry with warning lights flashing.

The stationary vehicle was hit by a Ford Fiesta which was clipped by a lorry and he was taken to hospital suffering from bruising and whiplash.

Traffic was backed up in both directions after the North Orbital Road was closed at the junction with Oak Wood Road and under the Waterdale M1 bridge for three hours. Junction 21A of the M25 was also shut, reopening at about 12noon.

Investigations are continuing and police are appealing for witnesses to come forward. Anyone with information can call Pc Chris Kent based at the central area road policing unit on 01707 638707.