A MOTORCYCLIST has died after a collision with a van and a car in North Yorkshire

The 68-year-old man from Thirsk was riding a silver Honda motorbike on the road between Ripon and North Stainley, near Lightwater Valley, at about 3.55pm on Wednesday when he collided with a white Ford Transit van and a blue Vauxhall Vectra.

The motorcyclist and van were both travelling towards Ripon and the Vauxhall was travelling in the opposite direction.

The biker died at the scene of the crash and North Yorkshire Police are not yet able to release his identity.

The driver of the Vauxhall, a woman in her 40s, was taken to Harrogate District Hospital with minor injuries and later discharged. The van driver was uninjured.

Last year saw a 30 per cent increase in motorcycling on North Yorkshire roads – but the number of bikers killed in crashes trebled.

A major new campaign was launched earlier this year in an effort to prevent the death toll rising even further.

Tim Madgwick, Deputy Chief Constable of North Yorkshire Police, said: “Sadly, 2013 will be remembered for all the wrong reasons by many families.

"We are determined to try and make motorcycling safer - I will work with all our partners to achieve this objective.”

North Yorkshire Police are appealing for witnesses of the collision, or of either of the vehicles prior to the crash, to contact them on 101, select option 2 and ask for the major collision investigation team, or email mcit@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk.

The road was closed to allow collision investigators to examine the scene and recover the vehicles. It reopened at 11pm.