Another driver has died on Essex's roads - the fourth already this year.

Last year more than 100 drivers were killed on the county's roads and police were determined to cut the figure in 2000.

But on Monday night, less than two weeks into the new year, a 45-year-old pick-up driver died after a crash on the Coggeshall bypass.

Police said a Volvo lorry was in collision with a Bedford van on the A120 at around 5pm.

The victim's identity has not been disclosed. He is believed to be a 45-year-old from the Braintree area. He was certified dead at the scene.

An Essex Police spokesman said today: "The road was closed in both directions for three hours while the vehicles were recovered and the road surface made safe. Drivers were diverted through Coggeshall."

The diversions caused major tailbacks.

The other fatal accidents this year were a cyclist involved in a collision with a car on the Army and Navy roundabout in Chelmsford, a driver whose car was in an accident with a fire engine in South Woodham Ferrers, and a 65-year-old cyclist who died at Runwell after being in a collision with a teenager on another bike.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the Coggeshall crash to contact Bocking Traffic on 01376 330722.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.