A FATHER-OF-THREE has been killed in a lorry crash in France only three years after escaping with his life in an horrific accident in Spain.

John Desmond Ward, of Montalbo Road, in Barnard Castle, was killed after his lorry left the road, near the French town of Sarthe.

In 1997, the trucker was badly injured when Spanish pickets hurled a slab of concrete through the windscreen of his cab from a motorway bridge.

He was knocked unconscious and his £80,000 lorry careered off the road and overturned in a field.

Mr Ward suffered severe injuries to his face, hands and chest, and told reporters at the time that he was lucky to be alive.

On Monday, the 46-year-old, who rebuilt his life after his near miss in Spain is believed to have suffered a heart attack at the wheel of his lorry, before losing control of his truck and leaving the road.

The cause of his death will not be known for certain until a post mortem examination has been carried out.

Emergency service staff pulled Mr Ward from his lorry, which was the only vehicle involved in the accident, but he died shortly afterwards, despite attempts by paramedics to revive him.

His family were yesterday too distressed to talk and his three children, Andrew, Jacqueline and Daniel, and partner Susan Roberts, were being comforted by friends.

The Foreign Office said little was known about the accident, but French Police were investigating.