TWO motorcyclists died in separate crashes on the same North Yorkshire road.

North Yorkshire Police were called to a crash between three cars - a red VW, a black Audi S3 and a blue Saab 93 - and a Yamaha YZF-R1 motorbike at about 2.45pm on Saturday on the A65 near Ingleton.

The rider - a 38 year old man from Merseyside - was pronounced dead at the scene, and the driver of the red Volkswagen - an 83 year old woman from Keighley - was arrested in connection with the incident and later released under investigation.

The second crash happened at 5.40pm on the A65 just south of Settle, and involved a silver Citroen Berlingo and a blue Suzuki GSX 1250 motorcycle.

The rider - a 61 year old Leeds man - was taken to Leeds General Infirmary by Air Ambulance, but died a short time later.

The driver of the Citroen, a 45 year old man from Leeds, was uninjured.

Sergeant Hamish Halloway from the Major Collision Investigation Team said: "Both of these devastating incidents happened on the A65 in the Craven area within a few hours of each other. I am appealing to anyone who was travelling on the A65 yesterday to get in touch with North Yorkshire Police. Even if you did not witness the collisions, you might have some information which could assist the investigations into these tragic events.

"Please call 101 with any information, quoting the reference numbers. If you are out of the North Yorkshire Area then please dial 101, press the hash key and say 'North Yorkshire Police'. My thoughts remain with all those involved in the collisions, especially with those who have lost a loved one."

Anyone who saw either incident or vehicles prior to the crashes should phone 101 or email hamish.halloway@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk quoting reference 12180196523 for the earlier crash, or 12180196653 for the later crash.