A HAMPSHIRE woman died yesterday when her car was involved in a head-on collision near the county border.

She is the fifth person to lose her life this year on the notorious Avon Valley road from Ringwood and Salisbury.

The driver of the other car, a white BMW 318, had to be cut free by firefighters and was taken to hospital with serious injuries following the crash on the A338 between Fordingbridge and Downton.

The woman, from Ringwood, who was in a green Kia Rio, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say the crash happened at 5.50am. No other vehicle is thought to have been involved.

The busy A338 was closed in both directions for about seven hours while accident investigators studied the scene and the wreckage was cleared.

Any witnesses to events leading up to the accident, the crash itself or its aftermath should contact PC 1275 Wallace at the roads policing unit at Amesbury police station on 0845 408 4000. Many people have lost their lives or suffered serious injuries on the A338 between Salisbury and Ringwood over the years.

This year alone five people have now been killed on the road.

Two people, a 23-year-old woman from Sixpenny Handley and a 27-year-old man died in a head-on collision in mid-March on the same stretch of road as yesterday’s crash.

On June 7, Paul Choat, 39, of Fordingbridge lost control of his Mercedes at Blashford near Ringwood and died. He had been drinking and speeding an inquest later heard. Then on September 27, Andrew Callis, 25, from Ringwood died when his car was involved in a head-on collision with a bus in fog at Ellingham crossroads. Plans to make the road dual carriageway between Fordingbridge and Ringwood were dropped more than a decade ago after it was decided to make the A350 the main north-south route between Bristol and the Bournemouth and Poole conurbation.