A CREW on a Hampshire ambulance responding to a 999 call sparked an emergency when it was involved in a pile-up during this morning's rush-hour.

The ambulance was on a call to a 36-year-old man having convulsions at a home in Kingsley Road, Gosport, when the vehicle was in collision with several cars in the town.

The ambulance driver was shocked but unhurt in the 8.55am incident on the A32.

The 48-year-old driver of a Ford Escort was taken to Queen Alexandra in Ports-mouth with whiplash.

No one was seriously hurt but five other cars were badly damaged. The A32 was closed for half a mile from Cunning-ham Drive to the North Star roundabout, close to the scene of the crash.

Hampshire Ambulance Service will carry out an internal inquiry to find out what led to the accident.

Sergeant Kevin Grant, of Hampshire police traffic unit at Fareham, said: "The ambulance was coming towards Gosport on an emergency and cars pulled over as far as they could to get out of the way, but there was a collision between the ambulance and a Peugeot and a Ford Escort.

"Then the ambulance hit two other cars behind, then the Escort careered across the road and hit two other parked cars off the road.

"The road was solid at the time in both directions and this caused chaos at a very busy time.''

Sgt Grant said the road would be closed for several hours and traffic was being diverted. He confirmed that a patient was taken to hospital suffering from whiplash and cuts and bruises.

A second ambulance was dispatched immediately to take the householder suffering convulsions to hospital.