Police are trying to trace witnesses who may be able to help an investigation into a fatal accident in Ryedale, North Yorkshire, at the weekend.

The 40-year-old woman who died was a passenger in a silver Peugeot 206 which is believed to have been travelling in a line of cars on the A169 between Malton and Pickering on Sunday just before it was involved in a collision with a Vauxhall Cavalier at Howe Bridge. Police want to speak to drivers who were either in front or behind the Peugeot just before the crash, which happened at about 11.50am on Sunday. Anyone who can help is asked to telephone (01723) 509555.

ZOE'S DREAM: Pop starlet Zoe Birkett is to appear on TV tonight. The Darlington teenager will be performing her new single, Treat Me Like A Lady, on BBC's Top of the Pops, at 7.30pm. The single, which stormed into the charts at number 12 last weekend, is Zoe's debut effort. Zoe, 17, who came fourth in ITV's Pop Idol show last year, has described appearing on Top of the Pops as one of her lifetime ambitions.

HORSE CASE: A 53-year-old driver is to be prosecuted following an accident on a Darlington road in which two horses were fatally injured. The man will appear at Darlington Magistrates Court on February 10, charged with careless driving following the incident on December 7. The two horses had to be put down after the accident. The two girl riders and the driver received minor injuries.

NINE INJURED: Nine people were recovering yesterday, after a three-car accident near Consett, County Durham. Six paramedic crews and a rapid response unit dealt with casualties after the smash, between a Mazda 626, a Citroen Saxo and a Ford Mondeo, on the Jolly Drover roundabout near Leadgate, at about 5.15pm on Wednesday. Nine casualties were taken to the University Hospital of North Durham, six with spinal injuries and three with minor injuries.

CHEMICAL LEAK: Fire crews from Bishop Auckland and Spennymoor, County Durham, were called to clear a spillage of liquid nitrogen, used in farming, that had leaked from a van on the A688 bypass, in Spennymoor. Two paramedic crews, trained in chemical decontamination, were also called to the scene at midday yesterday.

KITCHEN FIRE: A cooker fire caused smoke damage to the kitchen of a house in Ullswater Close, Spennymoor, yesterday afternoon. Two appliances from Spennymoor fire station attended the incident at about 2.10pm.

DRIVER QUIZZED: Police were yesterday interviewing a driver at the wheel of a car which fatally injured an elderly woman as she crossed the road. The blue Saab convertible was pulling out of the Safeway car park on to Victoria Avenue in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, when the accident happened at about 10.50am.The victim, who has not yet been named, was taken to Harrogate District Hospital but later died. Although the driver was helping with inquiries yesterday, anyone who saw what happened is asked to contact PC Rob Roberts at Harrogate police station or telephone (01423) 539474.