ANOTHER motorcyclist has been killed on a North Yorkshire road, the second in the space of a week.

The biker was involved in a head-on collision with a van near Selby.

The van driver, Damien Rushbrooke, 24, was taken to Pinderfields Hospital, Wakefield, with serious head and chest injuries following the accident in Sutton Lane, half a mile east of Byram-cum-Sutton, near Birkin.

Police say Mr Rushbrooke, of Fairburn, was driving towards Byram in a red Nissan van at around 6.45pm when he was involved in a collision with a green Kawasaki motorbike.

The male biker, the second motorcyclist to die on the county's roads this year, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. He was said to be aged 31 and from the Doncaster area.

Mr Rushbrooke's 22-year-old wife, Kelly, a passenger in the van, was uninjured.

A police spokesman said: "North Yorkshire Police are committed to reducing casualties and show a high profile around the Sherburn-in-Elmet for motorcyclists in particular.

"Unfortunately, again we have a timely reminder that motorcycling can be dangerous."

On Monday, police warned motorcyclists to be extra vigilant on the county's roads after a rider was killed on the A171 near Whitby, and another was injured on the A64 over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The injured rider, Wayne Borden, of Sandal, near Wakefield, today remained stable in Hull Royal Infirmary.

He was hurt when his machine was in collision with a car near Thompson's Fish and Chip Shop, near the crossroads for Towthorpe and Stockton-on-the-Forest.

Last year, 28 bikers and pillion passengers were killed on North Yorkshire's roads, the highest number of deaths ever recorded.

Anyone who saw either of the vehicles on Sutton Lane prior to the accident is asked to contact Traffic Sgt Mick Crome on 01904 669884.

Updated: 10:37 Thursday, April 15, 2004