A teacher has been seriously injured in a crash involving a Fife school minibus and a tipper truck today.

The woman was trapped in the wreckage of the vehicle for around two hours before firefighters cut her free.

Two primary school pupils were also slightly injured and another staff member hurt in the accident.

The eleven primary school children were on their way to a netball match when the accident happened on Oakley Road around half a mile from Saline in Fife at around 9.40am this morning.

Two fire appliances and an emergency tender, which carries specialist equipment, went to the scene, and freed the trapped driver.

The teacher, who was driving the minibus, was taken to Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline, where she is being treated for serious injuries, though they are not thought to be life-threatening.

David McLeod, Fife Fire and Rescue Service watch manager, said it was difficult to free her.

He said: "This was a really tricky job requiring time and precision to extricate the casualty.

"The emergency crews worked well together with the paramedics initially stabilising the casualty to allow fire crews to carefully cut away the mangled wreckage around the driver's legs."

Another member of staff was also taken to hospital and remains there, but with injuries that are not thought to be serious, An ambulance took all the Blairhall Primary pupils, a mixture of girls and boys, to hospital as a precaution.

They have since been released, though two suffered very minor injuries, Fife Council said.

It is not thought the man driving the truck was hurt.

Ken Greer, head of the education service at Fife Council, said: "I can confirm that a minibus carrying primary 6/7 pupils from Blairhall Primary School was involved in an accident this morning at 9.40am.

"Obviously our thoughts are with the staff and their families and we are all hoping for positive news from the hospital.

"The children, who were on their way to a netball match, were all wearing seatbelts. They were taken to hospital as a safety precaution but have all been released.

"The parents of the children involved have all been notified. Education service psychologists are at the school now to help the children and staff with any possible trauma."

Fife Police appealed for witnesses to contact them.

Fife's road policing Inspector John McDonald said: "Fortunately, everyone in the bus was wearing a seatbelt which undoubtedly helped to prevent more serious injury or even loss of life.

"We are keen to hear from anyone who witnessed this accident to try to establish what caused it."