A TRAVELLER was killed and his teenage son injured after a car collided with their horse-drawn gipsy caravan on the A66 as they were making their way to Appleby Horse Fair.

Police named the dead man as 40-year-old David Ward from Coxhoe.

Mr Ward was in one of two caravans involved in the accident as they crossed the busy dual carriageway.

His 15-year-old son Davie Ward was taken to Cumbria Infirmary in Carlisle suffering from leg injuries but was later released after treatment.

The two horse-drawn carriages were travelling westbound when a silver Vauxhall collided with them at about 8.45am, police said.

It happened at Palliard junction near North Stainmore, about four miles east of Brough.

The driver of the car, a 30-year-old man from Sunderland, was later arrested and taken to Penrith Police Station for questioning.

Another traveller on his way to the world-famous Fair - which attracts travellers from across the North-East and North Yorkshire - said he knew Mr Ward.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: "It's a terrible, terrible thing to have happened. He was a really nice man, very hard-working and a gentleman."

The westbound carriageway of the A66 was closed between Bowes and Brough for more than four hours following the accident.

One lane was cordoned off for much of the afternoon while recovery vans took away the car and the caravans and police investigated the accident scene, scattered with broken glass, oil and splinters of wood.

The tragedy follows the deaths in 2003 of a 44-year-old traveller and his six-year-old son - also from County Durham - after their traditional-style caravan was hit by a 28-tonne lorry on the A66 at Appleby.

The lorry driver, a 51-year-old man from Stockton, Teesside, was later jailed for four years after he admitted causing their deaths by dangerous driving.

After the accident, the fair's organisers produced road signs to warn drivers of the dangers of horse-drawn vehicles.

Police urged motorists to drive slowly along the A66 over the next few weeks, when many more travellers will be making their way to and from the Fair - which started yesterday - and runs until June 14.

Supt Jon Rush of Cumbria Constabulary said: "Over the next few weeks there will be numerous horse drawn carriages using the A66 and surrounding roads due to Appleby Fair.

"There will also be more vehicles on the road as visitors make their way to the festivities. Drivers should also allow extra time for their journey.

"Warning signs have been placed advising drivers that there are horse-drawn carriages on the road."