A WOMAN van driver has died after crashing into a tractor on an A-road in North Yorkshire.

The 45-year-old local resident was pronounced dead at the scene, on the A169 Malton to Pickering road, at Howe Bridge, near the Whole Hog farm shop and tearoom.

Police said the woman’s white Citroen Berlingo van had been heading towards Pickering when it hit a red Massey Ferguson tractor, travelling in the opposite direction, at 5.55pm on Thursday.

The 47-year-old local man driving the tractor was not injured.

A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said there had been a pedal cycle heading towards Pickering in the area at the time of the collision.

The road was closed for five hours as accident investigators examined the cause of the collision.

Traffic Sergeant Neil Campbell urged anyone who witnessed the collision or any of the vehicles before the incident to call 0845-60-60-24-7.