A local man was killed after the car he was driving collided with a bus in Pool-in-Wharfedale yesterday.

The 70-year-old, who has not been named, died at the scene of the incident on the A659 Pool Road, near to the Shell garage on the outskirts of the village, near the North Yorkshire border.

The dead man, from Otley, was driving a blue Vauxhall Meriva, which collided with a green, single-decker Connexionsbuses 940 service from Otley to Holt Park at about 10.30am.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance, which landed nearby, a rapid response vehicle and an ambulance all attended the scene, but paramedics were unable to save the man.

It is believed there were five passengers on the bus at the time of the incident. A spokesman for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said a few people were checked for injuries but no-one required hospital treatment. The bus driver was uninjured but badly shaken and was allowed home for the day.

The road was closed for several hours while police accident investigators examined the scene.

Craig Temple, managing director of Connexions-buses, which formerly operated as Harrogate Bus Travel, said: “We are assisting the police with their inquiries and we’re helping them in any way we can.”