A MAN who died in a fatal crash has today been named by police.

At about 11.25am on Friday police received a report that a vehicle had left the eastbound A690 near the Houghton Cut.

A black Ford Fiesta had been travelling on the road when the vehicle left the carriageway and collided with a hedge row.

Emergency services attended but the driver, who was the sole occupant of the Fiesta, was sadly pronounced dead at the scene.

Enquiries into the circumstances of the crash are ongoing but police do not believe any other vehicles were involved.

Officers have named the driver as 38-year-old Gary Sloan who was from Sunderland.

In a short statement, his family said: “Gary was loved by many and he was a devoted father to four beautiful daughters.

“He was a keen footballer and an avid supporter of Sunderland AFC.”

Sergeant Dave Roberts, of Northumbria Police's Motor Patrols Department, continued to appeal for witnesses to get in touch.

He said: "This has been a very difficult time for Gary’s family and they are understandably devastated.

“We are confident that no other vehicles were involved in this collision and we are trying to establish exactly what has happened.

“The weather conditions were poor on Friday and this is a line of enquiry but we need witnesses to come forward.

"If you were in the area and saw what happened, or if you have any dashcam footage from the time of the crash, then please call us.”

The A690 was closed eastbound at the bottom of Houghton Cut as a result of the collision with traffic being diverted from the A690 onto the A182.

The road was also closed westbound for a short period of time to allow for the recovery of the vehicle.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact police on 101 quoting log 356 16/08/19 or report it online at the Northumbria Police website.