A MOTORCYCLIST was airlifted to hospital folowing a road traffic accident in County Durham tonight.

The accident happened at about 5.30pm on the B6277 at Langdon Beck, near Forest-in-Teesdale and involved a collision between a motocycle and a van.

The motorcyclist, a man thought to be aged about 50, suffered head, chest and leg injuries. He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken by air ambulance to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

His condition is understood to be serious.