Note: the final two images in this gallery show damage to the vehicles. 

THE driver of a campervan was killed on Thursday morning following a head-on smash with a Dorset County Council truck.

The driver of the truck is a man in his 40s from Weymouth who suffered serious injuries, police have revealed.

Emergency services were called the accident, on the A31 just yards from the Esso service station, near Wimborne, at 10.15am.

Shocked witnesses told the Echo they heard an “almighty crash” when the impact took place.

One person, the male driver of the motor home aged in his 60s from Fareham in Hampshire, was declared dead at the scene.

His wife, a front seat passenger, was airlifted to Southampton General Hospital with serious but not life threatening injuries.

She was flown to the hospital's trauma unit where emergency doctors were standing by.

Meanwhile, the driver of the council truck, a man in his 40s from Weymouth, was taken to Poole Hospital with serious but not life threatening injuries.

On Friday a spokesman from Dorset County Council said: "He has been discharged and is recovering at home with his family."

Dorset Fire and Rescue Service, South Western Ambulance Service and Dorset Police attended the scene.

Police immediately closed the A31 to traffic, and it remained closed for much of the day.

The air ambulance landed in a field adjacent to the crash site to transport the female casualty to hospital.

One witness, Chantal Steel, who was working at the nearby Roadside Cafe, said: “We heard this big bang and when we realised what had happened we ran across to the Esso to get our hi-visibility tops before going outside to try and warn the traffic.”

While emergency services were making their way to the scene, the girls from the cafe went car to car warning drivers of the crash ahead of them.

Speaking from the scene , Dorset Police Acting Sergeant Sarah Jones confirmed: “Just before 10.15am this morning we were notified of a very serious accident on the A31 just outside the service station.

“Two vehicles have collided, one of which is a heavy good vehicle. 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.

“The road is going to be closed for some time. Highways are en-route to arrange diversions. We ask people to be patient at this time.”

A statement released by County Hall confirmed it was one of their trucks involved in the crash.

It read: “We can confirm that a Dorset County Council vehicle was involved in the incident on the A31 today. The driver has been taken to Poole General Hospital.

“Dorset County Council will be helping Dorset Police with their investigations. The members of Dorset County Council would like to express our sincere condolences to the family of the man who died and our hope that those injured in the crash  make a full and speedy recovery.”

Acting Sergeant Jones added: “I would urge any witnesses to this incident to contact Dorset Police on the generic 101 number.”

The A31 was completely closed by Dorset Police following the fatal collision.

It remained closed until 3.30 to allow specially-trained crash investigators to complete their detailed investigation.

Traffic built up during lunchtime - as the road was closed in both directions, between the B3074 Blandford Road junction and the B3078 Julian's Road junction.

There were some delays throughout the afternoon and Dorset Police thanked motorists for their patience.