Two injured and teenager arrested for drug-driving after cars collide on Portsdown Hill - and one bursts into flames

Two cars were in a crash on Saturday night at about 11pm on Saturday at the junction of Portsdown Hill Road and Crookhorn Lane.

Police say a 16-year-old boy and a 21-year-old man sustained serious but not life-threatening injuries and were taken to hospital.

One of the cars caught fire after the collision but police say no-one was inside at the time.

The road was closed until about 1am on Sunday.

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A 17-year-old boy from West Sussex was arrested in connection with the incident. He has been released under investigation while police enquiries continue.

A firefighter who attended has urged drivers to be more careful, saying that road traffic collisions have become an increasingly common part of his job over the past 18 months.

Cosham fire station crew manager Andy Brown was the incident commander for the collision, and said: ‘A car had crashed into another car, causing one to go off the road and go up in flames. When we turned up, one vehicle was fully alight. Luckily enough, they got out of that vehicle and the other vehicle - people needed extrication.’

Speaking generally and not about Saturday’s incident, the firefighter said: ‘Over an 18-month period we’ve had a massive increase of road traffic collisions. The message we’re trying to get out there is for people to be mindful of the speeds they’re driving at, the conditions of the road and their general condition as well - not to drink drink, not to drug drive.

‘More often than not, the jobs we’re going to at the moment are road traffic collisions. As a watch personally we’ve had our fair share of traumatic events. It is our job but if we can reduce that, that is what we’re looking to do.’

Richard Starks, 68, saw the fire and said: ‘We were travelling back from The George Inn when we saw it. It was engulfed in flames. I’ve never seen flames like that in my life.

‘I saw people on the side of the road covered in sheets. If they were not seriously hurt, they were very lucky. I imagine they would have been quite seriously hurt.

‘I’ve seen quite a few incidents in my time, but for those that haven’t, it would have been quite a shock.’

A fire service spokeswoman said that a call about the fire came in at 10.49pm, and that crews from Havant and Cosham were sent out. She confirmed that one person had to be rescued from a car. Firefighters finished there just before midnight, and South Central Ambulance Service and police were also called.