A DECOMMISSIONED ambulance which crashed into a barrier at Kildwick level crossing was being pursued by police following a fatal accident a short time earlier, it has been revealed.

The vehicle collided with the barrier, and came to rest on the railway tracks, late yesterday afternoon.

The driver, a 41-year-old man from Halifax, fled on foot but was found soon afterwards with support from a police helicopter.

He was arrested and remains in custody.

The ex-ambulance was being followed after police suspected it had been travelling in convoy with a white, flatbed truck - converted into a campervan – involved in a fatal crash near Ingleton less than two hours earlier.

The converted campervan was in collision with a Peugeot car travelling in the opposite direction on the A65, between Clapham and Ingleton, at about 4.15pm.

A passenger in the car, a 28-year-old man from Wigan, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Peugeot driver, a 21-year-old woman, also from Wigan, was taken to hospital but later discharged.

The driver of the converted campervan, a 28-year-old man from the Halifax area, was arrested at the scene on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving and driving while unfit through drink/drugs.

Three other men who were travelling in the campervan conversion sustained minor injuries.

The decommissioned ambulance left the scene and used its blue lights during its journey.

A police spokesman said: “Officers are appealing for anyone who may have seen the ‘ambulance’ - which also had livery on it - or has any dashcam footage of its journey, to contact them.

“Members of the public may have believed it was a real ambulance due to the use of its blue lights.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact North Yorkshire Police on 101, select option 2 and ask for Traffic Sergeant Hamish Halloway or TC Gemma Brett. Alternatively, e-mail Hamish.halloway@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk or gemma.brett@northyorkshire.pnn.police.uk. Quote reference 12180126976.

Train services on the Airedale line were suspended into the evening while emergency services dealt with the aftermath of the Kildwick crash.