A man has been taken to hospital with head injuries after he was hit by a vehicle in Chester-le-Street.
Emergency services were called to Pelaw Bank near Newcastle Road at about 8.30am on Tuesday.
The road was closed in both directions as ambulance crews tended to the victim, who was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson said: "We were called at 8.32am this morning to an RTC involving a pedestrian and a vehicle on Pelaw Bank in Chester-le-Street.
“We dispatched a double-crewed ambulance and transported a male patient with a head injury to the Royal Victoria Infirmary.”
The incident caused traffic in the area to back up and some bus services had to be diverted.
A nearby shopworker said: "When I came the police were there and a small group of people were standing. I didn't see what had happened but we were diverted around when I was coming to work."
A spokeswoman for Durham Constabulary said: “We were called to reports of a collision between a pedestrian and a car on Newcastle Road, in Chester-le-Street, shortly after 8.30am this morning.
“A man has been taken to the RVI, in Newcastle."
Go North East confirmed on social media that services 8, 34, 34A and 78 could not operate via South Pelaw due to the road closure and were operating via the bypass in both directions between Pelton and Chester-le-Street while the incident was dealt with.
There was also no service on Newcastle Road with buses operating via Picktree Lane and Park Road North.
Services and traffic returned to normal when the road reopened at about midday.
