PHOTOS: Road reopened after head-on crash between lorry and van on A386 in Meeth

A head-on crash between an articulated lorry and a van which closed the A386 in Meeth this afternoon has been cleared allowing the road to be reopened.

An air ambulance landed on the road after the white Volkswagen Transporter Panel Van and silver Volvo articulated lorry collided near the Petrockstowe junction at around 1.10pm.

Police, ambulance and fire crews from Hatherleigh and Okehampton were also called to the scene of the collision.

The air ambulance landed at the scene and the driver of the van, a man in his mid-forties, was treated at the scene by paramedics.

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He was taken to Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital by land ambulance. The air ambulance was not required to airlift the casualty so it returned to base.

It is understood the driver of the lorry suffered minor injuries but did not require hospital treatment.

The HGV lorry has been taken away to be inspected to see whether there were any mechanical failures which contributed to the crash.

The road was closed in both directions for around one hour and a half while emergency services dealt with the crash scene.

A bale of hay had to be cleared from the road, although it is uncertain where it came from and whether it was being carried by one of the crashed vehicles or had fallen from a passing vehicle.

A large amount of diesel and debris also had to be cleared from road by highways crews.

Police said there were several HGV lorries trying to pass which caused a heavy back log to traffic in the area.

There was also queuing traffic in both directions between the A3124 junction in Great Torrington and the A3072 junction in Hatherleigh because of the incident.

The HGV was moved into a layby nearby and the van, which is registered to an address in Plymouth, was recovered by a crew from Okehampton.

The road was reopened by police just after 2.10pm and the back log of traffic has eased in the area.

It is the second serious crash to occur in North Devon today.

A woman died after being thrown from her car following a collision on the A39 at Kilkhampton earlier this morning. A man also suffered serious injuries in the crash and was airlifted to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth.