AN 89-YEAR-OLD man has died of his injuries following a head-on collision at Hinton on Sunday.

Herbert Thorn, from Saxonford Road in Christchurch, was one of five people taken to hospital after the crash on the A35, near its junction with the B3055, just before 2.30pm.

Mr Thorn, who was a passenger in one of the cars, died in hospital from his injuries.

In a statement, his family said: "On Sunday, August 30, Mr Herbert Thorn was tragically killed as a passenger in a car crash in the New Forest. Mr Thorn has lived in the Christchurch area for over forty years. He is survived by his wife and two sons."

The busy New Forest road was closed for more than six hours to allow accident investigators to carry out inquiries. One of the other casualties suffered multiple injuries while three were said to have minor injuries. Police have not given any details about the four people or their current condition.

The collision involved a Ford Fiesta and a Honda Civic and one casualty from each vehicle had to be freed from the vehicles by Hampshire fire crews.

An animal ambulance also attended the scene because one of two whippets travelling in the Ford Fiesta suffered a leg injury.

Traffic was diverted from road closures at Ringwood Road, near the Cat and Fiddle pub, and at the B3055 junction, outside Dream Design on Lyndhurst Road. At one point there were five police cars, two fire engines, an air ambulance, an animal ambulance, a police support vehicle and several local authority vehicles at the scene.

The crash is the latest in a series of accidents in the area including a two-car collision last month which left six people injured.

A man was seriously injured when his car crashed into a tree in July and two cars collided in June, leaving a woman with serious injuries.

Any witnesses to Sunday’s collision are urged to call Hampshire Police on 101 and ask for the Serious Collision Investigation Unit.