TWO people have died after a collision between a motorbike and a car on the B1257 at Snilegate Head close to Newgate Bank, near Helmsley.

Police were called to the site 4.55pm on Saturday, August 3 when a blue Yamaha motorcycle travelling towards Helmsley was in collision with a grey Volkswagen Polo travelling in the opposite direction.

The rider of the motorcycle, a man aged 45 from Redcar in Cleveland, and the driver of the Volkswagen, a woman aged 65 from County Durham, were sadly both pronounced dead at the scene of the collision.

A passenger in the Volkswagen, a 75-year-old woman from Stockton-on-Tees, was taken to James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough with leg and arm injuries, where her condition is described as stable.

The road was closed to allow the emergency services to deal with the incident and for collision investigators to examine the scene. It reopened at around midnight.

Any witnesses who saw either of the vehicles travelling along the B1257 or who witnessed the crash are asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Traffic Constable Mark Thompson, or email contact information to Mark.Thompson@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk. 

A police spokesman said they are not yet in a position to release the identity of the people who died.