A CYCLIST has been airlifted to hospital after he crashed into the back of a car near Richmond.

The 66-year-old man, from Richmond, was riding his bike out of the town along Maison Dieu, towards Brompton on Swale, when he collided with a red Honda Civic.

A motorist who got stuck at the road closure said the accident happened close to the turning for Easby village.

The road was closed in both directions after the accident at around 11.50am on Tuesday and Yorkshire Air Ambulance took the man to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

A spokeswoman for Yorkshire Air Ambulance said: "The man went into the back of a car and had a heart attack. The driver of the car was an 81-year-old man from Richmond in a red Honda Civic.

"The road ambulance stabilised the cyclist before he was taken to hospital by air ambulance."