A MOTORCYCLE pillion passenger has died after a collision with a car on a coastal road.

North Yorkshire Police said the 44-year-old woman had been heading towards Whitby on the A165, near Burniston, when the red Yamaha motorcycle she was being carried by collided with a blue Citroen Xsara Picasso travelling in the same direction on Sunday (September 13), at 10.45am.

Paramedics pronounced the woman dead at the scene, while the motorcycle rider, who is in his 40s, sustained serious injuries and remains in Scarborough Hospital.

The driver of the car, a resident of the area who is in his 40s,was not injured. Police are particularly keen to speak to the driver of a maroon bus or van-type vehicle which passed the scene travelling southbound shortly before the collision.

Anyone who saw the collision, or either of the vehicles involved, should call police on 101, select option 2, and ask for TC Mark Hutchings or TC Andy Tucker, quoting reference number 12150161613.