A motorcyclist has died after a serious crash on the Bridport-Weymouth coast road.

It happened on the B3157 between Abbotsbury Hill and towards the West Bexington turning and involved a car and a motorbike.

Dorset Police received a report just after 2pm on Sunday of a collision involving a silver Honda motorcycle travelling east and a black BMW 1 Series travelling in the opposite direction between Abbotsbury and Swyre, near to the junction with Clay Lane, West Bexington.

Police, paramedics and Bridport firefighters were called to the scene.

The motorcyclist, a man aged in his 40s from Wiltshire, was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with serious injuries. He sadly died this morning.

His family has been informed and is being supported by specially-trained officers. The coroner has also been notified.

The occupants of the BMW did not sustain any serious injuries.

Road closures were put in place while emergency services dealt with the incident and carried out an examination of the collision scene.

Sergeant Sarah Jones, of the traffic unit, said: "Our thoughts very much remain with the family of the motorcyclist.

"Our investigation into this collision is ongoing and I would urge any witnesses who have not already spoken to police to contact us. I would also ask anyone who was driving in the area at the time and has dashcam fitted to their vehicle to please check their footage for anything relevant."

Fire, police and the ambulance service, including the air ambulance, all attended the scene and the road was closed for many hours.

Anyone with information should contact Dorset POlice on 101, quoting incident number 1:242, or report it online at dorset.police.uk