Police have appealed for witnesses to an accident in which a North Yorkshire woman suffered serious injuries.

The A170 was closed for three hours yesterday after a collision at 12.10pm between a white Iveco van and a red Citroen AX car half-a-mile the Thirsk side of Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe.

The Citroen driver, Barbara Birch, 53, from Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe, was taken to the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton with head and leg injuries. The van driver, John Newman, 41, from the Middlesbrough area, was uninjured.

Witnesses to the accident should contact traffic police on 01609-783131.