A pensioner died and another is fighting for his life after they were hit by a car at a pedestrian crossing.

The 92-year-old man and 85-year-old woman were crossing a busy main road when they were struck by a Vauxhall Nova car.

The accident happened on Newcastle Road, South Shields, South Tyneside, at about 8.10am, near a Tesco supermarket.

The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, and the man was in a critical condition at South Tyneside District Hospital.

Police closed the westbound carriageway of Newcastle Road while accident investigators surveyed the scene, and gridlocked traffic was directed away from the immediate area.

One motorist, who passed just minutes after the accident, said: "I saw an old man being placed on to a stretcher but he looked to be in a bad way.

"There were three ambulances and a lot of activity because there were also a lot of police officers trying to deal with the accident and the traffic jams."

Inspector Paul Gilroy, of Northumbria Police, said at the scene: "We are still trying to piece together the exact circumstances of this accident, but I can confirm that one elderly woman has died and an elderly man is in a critical condition."

The road was expected to be closed for a number of hours while specialist police investigators carried out their inquiries.

Meanwhile motorists driving into and out of South Shields were severely delayed by the road closure.

Station Officer Joe Woodcock, from South Shields ambulance station, said: "The couple both suffered serious multiple injuiries. It was very distressing."