THREE people were seriously hurt in accidents on North Yorkshire roads on Saturday.

A 17-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman were taken to Harrogate District Hospital following a head-on collision on the A61 at Wormald Green, between Harrogate and Ripon.

The 17-year-old was driving a green Volkswagen Polo towards Harrogate when he collided with a red Skoda Fabia being driven in the opposite direction by the 37-year-old.

She was yesterday released from hospital, but the 17-year-old remained in a serious condition last night.

The road was closed for four hours while police investigated the crash, which happened at 4.35pm.

Officers appealed for anyone who witnessed the manner of driving of either car before the collision to contact them on (01423) 539474.

In a separate incident, a motorcyclist received serious injuries when her Harley Davidson collided with a white Renault Clio on the A59 near St James Retail Park, in Knaresborough.

Police urged witnesses to the accident, which happened at 2pm, to contact them on (01423) 326003.

The crashes brought to an end a bad week on the county's roads.

Last Monday. 23-year-old Lawrence Koppert, of Sherburn, near Malton, died when his car struck an ornamental arch at Castle Howard.

On Tuesday, 65-year-old Thomas Robson, from Redcar, east Cleveland, died in a crash on the A19 at Tollerton, near Easingwold.

North Yorkshire Police held a high-profile safety day on Friday - statistically the worst day of the week for accidents in the county.

In total, 31 accidents were reported to the force's control room, 11 of which involved injuries.