AN 82-year-old man is in hospital after fracturing his hip in a road collision.

The crash happened at 5.20pm on Saturday, as the Middlesbrough pensioner was driving on the A66, near Darlington.

At the Long newton turn-off, his Ford Escort collided with a Renault Clio being driven by a 32-year-old Darlington woman.

Station officer Doug Wright, of Cleveland Fire Brigade, said: "We would presume that one of the cars pulled out of the junction to get on to the central reservation, and the other car was travelling towards Darlington, when they collided.

There have been dozens of accidents on the same stretch of the A66 in recent years.

Last year, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced that £4.7m is to be spent making the junction safe.

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact (01642) 301558.