A WOMAN died after her car veered off a busy York road and burst into flames.

Police said the woman, who has not yet been named, lost control of her white Rover saloon while travelling on the A64 eastbound towards Scarborough, at 2.30pm on Saturday.

The car veered off the road at Grimston Bar and hit a green primary route road sign. No other vehicles were involved.

It is believed that the middle-aged woman, who is not thought to be local, would have had her terrier dog travelling in the car with her, and a vet was requested at the scene.

Sergeant Nigel Atkinson, of Tadcaster Road Policing Group, said the accident had caused traffic chaos, with Saturday afternoon traffic backed up as far as Tadcaster at its worst.

Three fire crews from York and Acomb attended the scene to extinguish the blaze and cut the woman free. The last crew left at 4.55pm, after using hose reels and cutting gear.

Ambulance crews attended, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

The eastbound carriageway was closed for six hours between the A19 Fulford interchange and the A179 Hull Road junction.

A motorist who joined the A64 from Tadcaster Road said traffic was moving very slowly. "We were queuing for about a mile before the police directed us onto the slip road at Fulford," he said. "Traffic was moving at less than walking pace."

Anyone who saw the crash should call the witness line on 01904 669884.

Meanwhile, three people were taken to hospital after a two-car smash near Malton.

An elderly couple in a silver Mercedes and a woman driving a black Ford Ka, collided on the A64 at Ganton, at 2.30pm yesterday.

Police said the couple appeared to pull out of the Ganton Golf Club junction into the path of the Ford Ka, which was travelling east along the A64.

Both drivers were cut out of their vehicles by firefighters, and all casualties were taken to Scarborough District Hospital by ambulance, where they were detained overnight.

Witnesses should phone North Yorkshire Police on 01723 509555.

Updated: 10:27 Monday, January 31, 2005