THIS was the scene of devastation after a horrific road smash left a Hampshire man dead while his wife was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries.

The couple’s camper van was involved in a head-on collision with a council tipper truck yesterday that destroyed the front of their vehicle.

The driver of the van, a man in his 60s from Fareham, was declared dead at the scene following the crash.

And his wife, who is also in her 60s, was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries, although they are not thought to be life-threatening.

The pair had been travelling on the A31 near Wimborne in Dorset in their grey Fiat Autorail, when they collided with the Dorset County Council truck at about 10.15am.

Shocked witnesses said they heard an “almighty crash” from the impact, which was so strong that the entire front of the camper van was obliterated.

The road remained closed for much of the day, and the driver of the council truck, a man in his 40s from Weymouth, was taken to Poole Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

An air ambulance was called to the scene and landed in a field near to the crash site before transporting the camper van passenger to Southampton for treatment.

Acting Sergeant Sarah Jones, from Dorset Police, said: “One of the occupants of one of the vehicles has sadly been pronounced deceased at the scene.

“One occupant was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries.

“We have our road collision investigators here – they are going to be examining the scene.”

Dorset Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the collision to come forward and contact Sgt Jones on 101, quoting incident number 24:126.