POLICE said yesterday that a family were lucky to escape serious injury after a road crash that killed an elderly woman.

The woman was the front seat passenger in a Citroen ZX, which collided with a Rover 400 carrying a family of four on the A64 at Barton Hill, near Malton, North Yorkshire on Tuesday evening. The Citroen then hit a roadside bridge.

Police confirmed that the woman, who is from Leeds, died at the scene, despite the efforts of a passing firefighter who gave her emergency treatment.

The driver of the Citroen, believed to be the dead woman's husband, was taken to York Hospital with serious leg injuries which are not believed to be life-threatening.

The occupants of the Rover - a man aged 59, his wife and their two grandchildren, girls aged 13 and six, also from the Leeds area - were treated in hospital for minor injuries.

Traffic police at the scene said it was lucky the death toll was not higher.

Sergeant Paul Stephenson, of Malton Police, said: "This is a notorious blackspot. With the wet conditions on a greasy road a collision has taken place and it's another extremely sad situation.

"One person has been killed - it could have been much worse.

"The family in the Rover were quite lucky to walk away without serious injuries."