UPDATE: 4.13am

A BLACKWOOD man described his panic as he ran out on to the road to help three people who were seriously injured in a head-on collision.

Paul Watson, 65, said both vehicles involved in the incident near Woodfieldside were "smashed to smithereens" and he feared someone had died.

Mr Watson described how his son Neil, 40, was sat in the kitchen at Park View Bungalows, when there was "a massive bang" at around 8pm last night.

He said: "All we could see was a big cloud of steam. Neil phoned emergency services and I ran down, fearing the worst. Both cars were smashed to smithereens."

He described how a gold Peugeot and black Rover crashed head-on. Mr Watson said there was a man in the Peugeot and a couple in the Rover.

He added: "My biggest concern was a baby seat in the back of the Rover. I panicked and was asking the couple ‘where is the baby?’ Luckily, they said it wasn’t in the car."

Four ambulances and fire crews from Cefn Fforest and Malpas were called to the scene, while an off-duty policewoman and residents rallied around to help.

Mr Watson said the people were cut from the cars and it took around four hours to free the woman in the Rover.

He said police stayed at the scene until around 1am and the road re-opened at around 3am.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman confirmed all three people are stable at the Royal Gwent Hospital with non life-threatening injuries. The man in the Rover was 56, the woman 50, while the Peugeot driver was 26 years of age.

UPDATE: 9.49am

THE three people involved in last night's crash in Penmaen, near Blackwood were left with serious injuries and are still in hospital.

Police said they attended the scene at Oakdale Terrace, Penmaen, Blackwood, at 8.20pm.

Three people, a man in a Peugeot and a man and a woman in a Rover car, were taken to hospital with serious injuries that were not believed to be life threatening, a police spokeswoman said.

UPDATE: 8.36am

THREE people were cut out of two cars involved in a crash in Penmaen, near Blackwood, on Tuesday evening.

The fire service said that it attended an incident at Park View Bungalows, Penmaen, involving two cars at around 8.21pm.

Firefighters cut three people out of the cars, who were then taken to hospital by ambulance.

Crews from Cefn Forest and Malpas attended. Fire service control said the police were also on the scene.