THREE people were taken to hospital following a nine-car pile-up on a major road near Haslingden yesterday.

The crash caused the left hand lane northbound of the A56 between the M66 junction and the A681 to be closed.

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It caused major tailbacks for around two hours.

The carriageway was reopened at around 4.10pm.

Up to 16 people were involved in the incident and three were taken to hospital by ambulance with minor injuries.

A police helicopter also attended. The cause of the incident is unknown.