TRIBUTES have been paid to a taxi driver who was reported missing before being found dead at an accident blackspot.

Police said experienced Thirsk cabbie Pete Maltby was found in his Ford C-Max, yards from the junction for Ingleby Cross on the A172 on Sunday.

The 59-year-old had been missing since setting off for work from his home in East Road, Northallerton on Saturday and had last been seen at 9.30pm driving north on the A19, near Osmotherley.

Police said Mr Maltby’s car left the road before stopping by a ditch and the cause of his death remained unknown. They said it did not appear there were any other vehicles involved in the incident and one line of inquiry was that it had not been due to driver error.

Numerous floral tributes have been laid at the crash site and colleagues on the Thirsk rank said they had been devastated by the loss of a respected friend and colleague. A neighbour of Mr Maltby, who it is understood was a taxi driver in Thirsk for about 25 years, described him as “a wonderful man”.

The fatal collision follows several serious accidents on the same stretch of road this year, including a crash involving a minibus and a car at the crossroads in March, in which six people were injured.

Police appeal for anyone with information to who saw Mr Maltby’s silver Ford C-Max on the A172 between Stokesley and Ingleby Cross between 9.35pm on Saturday (September 6) and 3am on Sunday (September 7), to call 101 or email katie.shaw@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk