Pensioner fighting for life after being hit by a van while crossing a Bedlington road

A pensioner is in a critical condition after she was hit by a van while crossing a road in Bedlington on Friday morning.

The 78-year-old woman was crossing Hartford Road in the Northumberland town just before 10am when she was hit by a Ford transit tipper van, which was also towing a trailer.

The woman suffered serious head and leg injuries and she has been taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where her condition is described as being “critical, but stable”.

The air ambulance was called to the scene, but paramedics opted to drive the elderly woman to hospital instead.

Police closed the road for two hours while the woman received medical treatment and was driven to hospital, but it has since re-opened.

Officers investigating the crash are now appealing for witnesses and a Northumbria Police spokeswoman said: “A Ford transit tipper van towing a trailer was travelling south on Hartford Road when it collided with a 78-year-old woman who was crossing the road.