A BIKER was killed while trying to negotiate running water on a Yorkshire Dales road, police said.

The 52-year-old rider, from Seaham , County Durham, died after losing control of his bike and colliding with a stone wall near Richmond .

He was riding as part of a group of three motorcyclists heading towards Richmond when the accident happened.

It is thought he was trying to negotiate water running across the road when he lost control.

The accident happened at about 3.30pm on Saturday on the A6108 Reeth to Richmond road, near Lowenthwaite Bridge. An air ambulance was called to the accident, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are appealing for any witnesses who were travelling on the A6108 at the time and saw the collision, or who recall seeing the group of riders travelling towards Richmond.

The Great North Air Ambulance and Yorkshire Air Ambulance were also called to an accident near Whitby at 11.45am on Saturday, after a car and a motorcycle collided.

It happened on the A171 Whitby to Guisborough Road, outside Broadings Farm, where a car boot sale is often held.

A black Dodge Calibre car had been travelling towards Whitby when it collided with a black Honda motorcycle being ridden in the same direction.

The rider of the motorcycle and his female pillion passenger, both from the Norfolk area, were thrown from their machine and were seriously injured.

The 43-year-old man suffered head and leg injuries and was airlifted to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, by the Great North Air Ambulance, while the Yorkshire Air Ambulance transported the female passenger to the same hospital.

They both remain in a serious condition.

The car driver, a 36-year-old man from the Darlington area, suffered shock but was uninjured.

The road was closed for four hours and diversions put in place while accident investigators examined the scene.

Witnesses who saw the collisions, or the vehicles prior to the accidents, are asked to call North Yorkshire Police on 101.

Anyone who saw the Whitby collision should ask for Neil Campbell, and those with information about the accident near Richmond should ask for Mick Hancock.