POLICE have confirmed three people were seriously injured and two needed to be airlifted to hospital after motorcycles crashed on a country road.

The Honda motorbikes collided on Sunday afternoon just after 2.10pm in Rivington Road between Belmont and Rivington.

Pillion passenger Karen Jones, from Bolton, and her partner, Reg, were on one motorbike and the other machine was being ridden by a man.

All three are thought to have suffered various fractures of the shoulder, back, arm and ankles — Ms Jones and her partner were flown by air ambulance to the Royal Preston Hospital.

Posting on social media Ms Jones wrote: “I’m there now sat in critical care waiting to hear how bad my brain injury is.

“Apart from that I have a broken wrist and lots of bruising.

“My partner wasn’t so lucky.

“He has a broken femur and compound fractures to his tibia (shin) and ulna (forearm). All need surgery for plating.

“He will need to be taught to walk again and he may also lose the tip of his finger.”

She added: “The other biker was taken by road to hospital.

“He is hurt but not badly, I was told. I hope he is OK.”

Paramedics from North West Ambulance Service were first on the scene and called Lancashire Police for assistance 15 minutes after arriving.

Police officers closed Rivington Road and Sheep House Lane in Rivington until 7.20pm.

It is not clear if the injured motorcyclists knew one another and were travelling as a group or were strangers.

A police spokeswoman for Lancashire Constabulary said: “Enquiries are ongoing to establish exactly how the collision happened.”

There have been no arrests.