A TEN-year-old girl was fighting for her life and a seven-year-old boy was seriously ill in hospital today after a two-car collision in York.

The children, both from York, were receiving paediatric intensive care at Leeds General Infirmary for serious injuries sustained in an accident in North Lane, Huntington, at about 11am on Saturday.

In another incident at Upper Poppleton, three people had an amazing escape when their 4x4 vehicle flipped on to its roof.

In the Huntington crash, police believe the black Ford Focus carrying the youngsters landed in a ditch by the side of the road after colliding head-on with a red Fiat Brava close to the junction with the A64. The male driver received only minor injuries.

The girl was said to be in a critical condition after suffering a broken skull and internal head bleeding. The boy sustained injuries to his head and neck.

The Fiat driver, a man in his forties, had to be freed by firefighters using cutting equipment and underwent surgery at York Hospital for severe leg injuries.

Crash investigators closed North Lane until nearly 4pm while officers cleared the road.

The cause of the accident is not yet known, but local householders said there was black ice in North Lane, which is not on City of York Council's designated gritting route.

Anyone who saw either of the cars before the accident is asked to contact Sgt Graham Carroll or Traffic Constable Grant Gibson of York Police on 01904 631321.

Treacherous conditions resulted in another accident on Saturday when a three-car incident at 5.55pm closed the eastbound stretch of the A64 at Whitwell-on-the-Hill for a short period.

A further collision at 3pm yesterday between a green Fiat Punto and a Ford Maverick 4x4 saw three people lucky to escape with only minor injuries after the off-road vehicle left the road and flipped over in a field, leaving them trapped.

The crash, which happened at the Hodgson Lane junction with the A59, at Upper Poppleton, closed a section of the A59 for more than four hours. Delayed traffic was diverted through Hessay as the crash scene was cleared and accident investigators examined the site. The stretch of the A59 reopened at about 7.30pm. Police said there were no indications that the collision had been caused by icy conditions.

Two accidents were reported on the A64 at Tadcaster during this morning's rush hour.

An elderly female pedestrian was taken to York Hospital with leg injuries after a collision outside the Total petrol station, at 8.13am.

A two-vehicle crash at the westbound Tadcaster junction caused further delays at 8.47am. Paramedics attended but nobody was injured.

Elsewhere, a white Toyota turned over on the central reservation of the A1(M) southbound, two miles north of Wetherby, at 5.40am. No injuries were reported and traffic was flowing by 7.30am, according to AA Roadwatch.

Updated: 10:29 Monday, March 01, 2004