A FEMALE pedestrian was killed after being hit by a heavy goods vehicle on the A1 in the early hours of this morning.

The woman, who was in her early 40s, was struck by a white Mercedes HGV on the snow-hit A1, in North Yorkshire.

The collision occurred on the southbound carriageway, near Marne Barracks, to the north of Catterick Garrison.

It is not clear, at this stage, how or why the woman, who is understood to have lived locally, came to be walking on the road at the time of the collision.

The A1 was closed for several hours, in both directions, while police and other emergency services carried out preliminary investigations and began clearing the scene.

Fire and ambulance crews also attended the incident, which was reported at about 2.30am.

The northbound carriageway of the A1 was re-opened at about 5am, while the southbound carriageway remained closed until the start of the morning rush hour.

It was re-opened at about 8am.

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Police said the woman's next of kin had been informed.

He added that officers would not be in a position to release her identity for the next few days.

The spokesman said: "Anyone who saw the woman walking in the Catterick or Colburn areas, in the moments before the collision, is asked to come forward."

The driver of the HGV was not injured in the collision.

Witnesses can call traffic constable Tony Leonard, of the Richmond road policing group, on 0845-60-60-24-7, quoting incident reference number 12100002787.