A CYCLIST was seriously injured in a collision involving a motorist from Keighley on the A59 near Skipton.

The cyclist – a man in his 50s – was riding towards Skipton when the crash occurred at about 3.30pm yesterday at the Carleton junction near Broughton Hall.

It also involved a blue Land Rover Discovery towing an Ifor Williams trailer.

The cyclist was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary, where his condition is described as serious. The Land Rover driver, a man in his sixties from the Keighley area, was not injured.

The road was closed for about six hours while police investigated the scene of the collision.

Officers are asking for any witness who saw either the cyclist, who had been riding with two other cyclists prior to the collision, or the Land Rover and trailer, to contact them. Call 101, select option 2 and ask for the Major Collision Investigation Team, quoting reference number 12150179799.