CIRENCESTER came to an abrupt standstill during the height of the Friday rush hour after a four car pileup brought the town to gridlock.

Commuters wanting to get home and start the weekend were met with nose-to-tail queues on all the roads coming in and out of Cirencester.

The crash, which happened close to Cirencester Hospital at approximately 3.30pm on Friday, December 6, resulted in the A419 being closed for four and a half hours.

It is unclear how the accident unfolded but police have confirmed that the cars involved were a blue Renault Clio, being driven by a 20-year-old Cirencester man, a blue Mini, a second Renault Clio and a white Mini that was being driven by a 50-year-old woman from North Nibley.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said that four people were taken to the Great Western Hospital in Swindon with injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening.

As traffic around Cirencester built up, many motorists took to social-networking sites to find out what was going on.

One user wrote: “I was stuck there for an hour and half and got to see the four cars involved. It looked horrendous. One of the cars had its roof cut and was lying in the ditch.”

Others used the sites to post details of their journey with one person saying that it took an hour and a half to travel from Kemble to Watermoor Fire Station in Cirencester.

Anyone who witnessed the accident or has any information is asked to contact Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 295 of December 6.