Police are calling for witnesses after a cyclist died colliding with a stone wall near Harrogate

Police are calling for witnesses following the death of a cyclist who collided with a stone wall on Friday near Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Police say the 38-year-old man, from Lancashire, was riding with a friend when he lost control of his bike and crashed into the wall at around 16.00 BST on Friday.

The riders were coming down Red Brae Bank on the B6265 outside Lambs Hill Farm, towards Pateley Bridge, when the accident occurred. The man sustained fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are calling for witnesses and have particularly asked anyone who may have spoken to the pair at Toft Gate Barn cafe, Bewerley, to call North Yorkshire Police on 101 and ask for Traffic Constable Mark Hutchings. Officers are keen to track down a woman driving a small blue car, who stopped at the scene to assist.

We want to trace a lady in blue car who stopped to help after cyclist fatally injured near #PateleyBridge Friday http://t.co/EfIHBDURrD

— NorthYorkshirePolice (@NYorksPolice) July 11, 2015

Red Brae Bank is on the popular Way of the Roses route, a descent described as "long and progressively steep" with gradients of 16% in places, and tight bends. The road was closed until 19.15 for collision investigators to examine the scene.

The dead man was riding a blue Carrera bike, his friend a Raleigh, and both carried hi-visibility rucksacks.