FIRE crews had to cut a woman  from her vehicle after it was  involved in a three-car crash.

The incident occurred on the  A379 near the turn off to  Powderham village at around  8.30am yesterday and saw the  road closed at the Swan’s Nest  roundabout for more than three  hours.

No one is understood to have  been seriously injured in the  incident but it led to severe  traffic delays.

Among those affected by the  traffic build-up was a coach trip  of school children from Cornwall on their way to Powderham  Castle.

Ingrid Oram, marketing manager for the castle, said: “A number of staff were delayed and a  group of children coming for a  Victorian visit from Cornwall  were made late but we have  managed to accommodate them.  They were lucky to get through.  I think they came across the  police and were diverted.

“I drive the road every day but  I heard on the radio there had  been an accident so I used the  A380 and went over Mamhead.”

A white Fiat Punto, a blue  Volkswagen Golf and a silver  Mitsubishi Colt were involved  in the crash.

Three people suffered injuries, including the woman who  had to be cut free. All were taken  to the Royal Devon & Exeter  Hospital by ambulance.

A fire service spokesman   said: “We had to get the cutting  equipment out in order to free  one woman who was trapped.  Two other people who were injured were free of their vehicle  by the time we arrived.”

Bus services were also disrupted as traffic built up.

 Stagecoach’s number 2 service has to be “temporarily diverted because of the closure”,  meaning outbound from Exeter,  it was only able to go as far as  Exminster.

On the return route, it travelled as far as Dawlish, serving  Teignmouth and Newton Abbot.

Police confirmed that they  were able to reopen the road  around 11.50am. A spokesman  said: “There was debris on the  road which needed to be cleared  and the fire service needed to  free a casualty. This led to the  road closure.”