A DRIVER has died in hospital following a crash.

The 50-year-old local man was driving a Ford Kuga car which crashed into the back of a stationary vehicle in Cockton Hill Road shortly before 6am on Monday.

He was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital, but died some time later.

The parked car, a Ford Fiesta, was empty at the time of the accident.

The road was closed for about three hours to allow emergency services to deal with the incident.