A MOTORIST died and another person was badly hurt when two cars collided in the early hours of Sunday morning.

The head-on crash involving a silver Ford Fiesta and a silver Skoda Fabia happened on the B6282 Lands Road near Cockfield, south of Bishop Auckland, at 12.25am.

The driver of the Fiesta suffered fatal injuries and the rear seat passenger of the Skoda was taken to the James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, with serious injuries.

Flowers have been left at the scene in tribute to the driver.

Durham police have issued an appeal for witnesses and want to speak with anybody who may have seen the collision or either vehicle shortly before.

Sergeant Kevin Salter, who is in charge of the investigation, said: “This is a tragic incident and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of all those involved."

A County Durham & Darlington Fire and Rescue spokesperson said: "We were called by the Ambulance service at 12.27am to reports of a road traffic collision with persons trapped."

Two appliances from Bishop Auckland and the station's special rescue unit attended the scene.

Anybody with any information is asked to contact the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit via the non-emergency number 101, quoting DHM-29052016-0017.