Four people ended up in hospital after three crashes just hours apart in a day of major incidents on Aberdeenshire roads.
A busy day for the emergency services began with a serious smash just outside Aboyne, on the A93 Aberdeen to Braemar road, at 10.20am.
Two women, who were believed to be mother and daughter, were in a blue Honda Jazz when it veered off the road and crashed into a tree about a mile to the east of the Deeside town.
Police, fire crews and the ambulance service were all called to the scene with both victims trapped in the vehicle.
Crews from Aboyne and Ballater had to cut them free from the car.
The pair were taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary (ARI) where it is understood one of the women was treated for a broken arm.
The road was reduced to one lane with a contraflow in place for more than two hours but was reopened just after 1pm.
Just hours later, about five miles away, another one-car crash took place on the B9119 Aberdeen to Cambus O’May road at about 1.50pm.
One woman was trapped in a yellow Vauxhall Corsa following the smash and had to be freed by nine firefighters from Banchory using small tools.
A man and a woman were subsequently taken to ARI. The injuries were not thought to be serious.
Meanwhile, a short time later, emergency services were called to a three-car crash on the B977 Kintore to Dunecht road, about two miles from Kintore.
The collision – between a red van, silver Mondeo and a black Ford Ka – happened about 2.20pm at the Gauchhill Roundabout.
The fire service were not called out to the incident.
One person was taken to ARI following the collision, but the extent of their injuries was unclear last night.
A spokesman for the ambulance service said: “We dispatched one ambulance and our special operations response team to the scene.
“One patient was taken to the Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.”