A WOMAN died in a head-on crash between a car and a van and a driver has been arrested.

It happened on the A59 at Moor Monkton, near York, at around 3.13am on Tuesday morning and involved a white VW Crafter van heading in the direction of York and a white Ford Focus travelling towards Harrogate.

The driver of the Focus, a woman in her 60s from York, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Her front-seat passenger, a 71-year-old woman from York, was taken to Leeds General Infirmary with serious injuries that are not believed to be life-threatening.

The driver of the VW van, a 38-year-old man from Halifax, has been arrested on suspicion of causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

He remains in custody for questioning.

Diversions were managed by the Highways Agency while the emergency services worked at the collision scene and to allow the vehicles to be safely recovered.

The road re-opened at around 8.30am.