THE Health and Safety Executive has been called in to establish how a 42-year-old workman was crushed to death between a lorry and a minibus.

Firefighters called to the scene of the tragedy in Brotton High Street used hydraulic rams and airbags to prise the two vehicles apart. They created a gap for paramedics to reach the victim who, it is understood, was trapped in the wheel arch of one of the vehicles. The trapped man was certified dead at the scene.

The vehicles involved in the crash on Friday night were an open-backed Northumbria Water lorry and a Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council minibus, the driver of which sustained injuries to his stomach and back.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident to ring investigators on (01642) 301558.