A 29-YEAR-OLD man has died after the van he was driving was in collision with a JCB.

Cleveland Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident on the northbound carriageway of the A19, near to Teesside Park, at about 7.55pm on Thursday.

The 29-year-old's van, which he was driving north, collided with the rear of the JCB.

As a result, the driver, who was named last night as Jamie Richardson, from Ingleby Barwick, near Stockton, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the JCB, a 29-year-old man from Guisborough, east Cleveland, was taken by ambulance to the James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where he received treatment for a back injury, but was released a few hours later.

The northbound carriageway, between Mandale Interchange and the A66, was closed for five hours.

Anyone with any information about the crash is asked to contact PC Mark Pearson on (01642) 301558.