THE man who died in an horrific road accident within hours of the start of the firefighters' strike could not have been saved, even if industrial action had been averted.

The van driver, who police say is not from the North-East, died in a fireball when his Ford Transit collided with an Audi A3 on the A67 at Teesside Airport, near Darlington, on Wednesday night.

Despite the quick thinking of the nearby airport's firecrews who sped to tackle the resulting blaze the man died at the wheel of his van.

The Audi driver, believed to be from the Stockton area, was pulled free of the wreckage by airport firefighters and taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital, where he is still being treated for leg injuries.

The crew which tackled the fire went to the same hospital after it was thought that chemicals kept in the back of the van might have leaked.

But after five hours of precautionary checks, they were released and subsequent tests on liquids kept in large canisters in the van established they were harmless water-based fluids.

Army Green Goddesses, from Darlington, were deployed to the fire but were turned back because it had already been extinguished.

Kevin Gelders, Fire Brigade Union representative for Teesside, was on the picket-line in Middlesbrough when the accident happened.

He said: "No one broke the picket to go because there isn't a fire station for miles. The nearest are in Darlington and Yarm.

"Because of the circumstances of the incident, it seems as though we couldn't have done anything anyway. The crew from Teesside Airport were there almost immediately and did a good job."

Assistant divisional officer Walter Moore, of Teesside airport fire department, said a fire vehicle crew spotted the flames while on a routine circuit of the airstrip.

He said: "They came across an horrific accident. They were up against it because of the ferocity of the fire. They knew someone was inside but were forced back by the intensity of the flames.

"They did everything they could, but unfortunately he died."

Chief Superintendent Jeff Evans, of Cleveland Police, paid tribute to the airport crew. He said: "They have acted in a true spirit of what we expect. They reacted well to something in tremendously difficult circumstances. I will thank them personally."