Five people including a child have been taken to hospital following a rush-hour crash involving eight vehicles, according to police.

The accident happened near junction 18 of the M8 motorway in Glasgow at about 9am.

The westbound carriageway was closed for more than three hours while emergency services dealt with the incident.

All five casualties were taken to hospital but their injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

The collision involved a heavy goods vehicle, a van and six cars, according to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS).

SFRS station manager Eddie Ritchie described the incident as a "significant collision".

He said: "Three people were trapped inside three cars and firefighters removed the vehicles' roofs to ensure they could be safely released.

"It was a challenging operation - the cars were positioned against the wall beside the hard shoulder - but our firefighters were working alongside paramedics and trauma doctors who were attending to the casualties as we worked to extricate them.

"Thankfully there seems to be a more positive outcome than would probably have been expected from looking at the scene."

Police Scotland said three casualties were taken to the city's Western Infirmary while another was taken to the the Southern General Hospital. The child was taken to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children at Yorkhill.

The motorway reopened at 12.25pm.