A BIKER was killed in a horror crash in North Dorset.

A 52-year-old man believed to be from Gillingham died after a smash on the A350 north of Blandford on Sunday, increasing the grim total of the amount of people killed on Dorset’s roads this year to 19.

He suffered serious injuries and was airlifted from the scene on the A350 near Compton Abbas and taken to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol where he died.

It happened at 12.30pm and involved a motorcycle registered to a man who police say was from the local area. It was being ridden south when it was in collision with a grey Land Rover Discovery, travelling north, registered to a driver from Caerphilly, Wales.

Two ambulances and the air ambulance attended, South Western Ambulance Service said.

The A350 between Blandford and Shaftesbury was closed for several hours and not reopened until last night.

Motorists flocking to the last day of the Great Dorset Steam Fair faced long tailbacks throughout the afternoon, although a signed diversion was put in place via the A357.

Speaking at the scene Sergeant Nikki Burt said: “It is in the very early stages of the investigation.

“We are appealing for witnesses, anyone who witnessed any vehicles prior to the collision or the scene itself should contact Dorset Police on 101 quoting reference number 230/1st.

“The investigating officer is Sergeant 1667 Nikki Burt.”

A Dorset Police spokesman thanked motorists for their patience while the road closure was in place. The road was closed to allow the scene to be examined by collision investigators and crime scene investigators, he said.

The spokesman said the biker’s next of kin had been informed.

The death comes just a week after a collision on the A35 at Askerswell near Bridport in which Poole mum Rosemary Evans was critically injured.

She died in hospital last Tuesday.