A man was taken to hospital in Inverness today after being involved in a serious four car collision in Easter Ross.
The accident happened at about 11am at the junction of the A9 Inverness-Thurso road and B9174 road in to the centre of Tain, close to the Glenmorangie distillery.
A fire station manager also praised the response of the emergency services who dealt with the incident.
Three crews – one each from Dornoch, Invergordon and Golspie – went to the scene and cut an elderly man free from a vehicle.
Paramedics then took the casualty by road ambulance to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness with back injuries. His condition is understood to be non life threatening.
The A9 was shut initially but soon reopened under convoy, and the road fully opened at about 2.30pm.
The right-turning lane from the A9 in to Tain was closed off for several hours due to a large oil spill on that section of the road.
A police spokeswoman said that two vans and two cars were involved in the collision.
Station manager Steven Bassindale said that crews worked closely with the NHS doctor and paramedics on scene to ensure the safe release of the man.
He also praised the swift action of local police to close the road and said this was crucial for everyone’s safety.
An earlier crash today involving two cars and a van caused rush hours delays on the Kessock Bridge.
The accident happened at around 7.50am, completely blocking both southbound lanes.
A police spokeswoman said that nobody had been injured in the incident.
Traffic was flowing normally again by 8.20am.