A MAIN road was closed for around two hours overnight after a car fire and two separate crashes.

The incidents occurred on the A647 Stanningley bypass near to the Owlcotes Shopping Centre in Pudsey.

Fire crews from Stanningley were called to the Bradford-bound carriageway just before 11pm last night after reports of a blaze involving Volkswagen Golf.

On arrival, they found the car had suffered a fault with its fuel line.

A spokesman for the crew said: "As we were dealing with the fire, there were two RTC's (road traffic collisions) on the Leeds-bound carriageway.

"They were probably caused by people 'rubbernecking' at the car fire.

"There was a two-car crash, and then another car crashed into one of those vehicles.

"Both sides of the road had to be closed for around 90 minutes to two hours."

The vehicles involved in the first crash were described as a Honda Accord and Ford S-Max.

Drivers involved in the crashes were treated at the scene by paramedics, but did not require hospital treatment. 

Fire crews from Stanningley and Bradford were in attendance, alongside police.