A man and his six months pregnant wife have been killed in a road crash.

Adrian Baldwin, 34, and his wife Suzie, 29, from Romanby, near Northallerton, died instantly in the head-on crash with a lorry on Saturday. The couples' pick-up and the lorry were engulfed in flames after the crash.

Police said Mr and Mrs Baldwin, who had had been married for less than a year, were travelling towards Darlington on the A167 road from Northallerton when their Mitsubishi pick-up veered on to the wrong side of the road near Hurworth Place after failing to negotiate a left-hand bend.

The driver of the HGV, a 57-year-old man from Bedale, suffered minor injuries and shock.

Mr Baldwin had just been made a partner in his friend's company, Northallerton Steel Erection. His wife worked for Airtours from Newcastle and Teesside airports as an air stewardess.

Both families of the couple - who were being comforted at Mr Baldwin's parents' home in Scorton, near Richmond - were too upset to talk about the tragedy.

It is estimated that the road is the scene of up to four accidents a year. Anyone with information about the crash, just before 8.30am, is asked to call Durham Police on (0191) 386 4929.