A MAN has died and two others were seriously injured after a late-night horror crash in Shepley.

The men, all in their 20s, were travelling in a Ford Transit van along Lane Head Road, towards Shelley village when it left the road.

The vehicle ploughed through a wall and into a field late on Sunday night.

All three were trapped in the vehicle and had to be cut free by firefighters.

The driver, who died at the scene, has been named locally as 25-year-old Ben Cooper, from Denby Dale.

Mr Cooper is a former student of Shelley College. Flowers were left at the scene of the crash with tributes. One read “Love you lots Coopa”, and was signed Winegum.

A 29-year-old male passenger, who suffered a broken leg, managed to alert emergency services.

Skelmanthorpe and Holmfirth fire crews and police were on the scene at 11.20pm.

A third man, 26, suffered a broken ankle. Both injured men were taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary.

Watch Commander Richard Meakin, of Skelmanthorpe, said: “The van left the road, hit a tree and flew over the wall to land in a field.

It appears no-one saw the crash and we don’t know exactly what time it happened.

“One of the injured men was conscious and was able to call 999 on his mobile phone. All three were trapped on the front seat of the van, with two trapped by their legs.

“It took us about 40 minutes to release the two passengers and an hour to free the driver”.

Police yesterday could be seen collecting debris at the scene but the van had been recovered.

Road markings plotted the route the van appears to have taken as it travelled over the brow of the hill and down the road towards Shepley.

It apparently travelled on the wrong side of the road before veering back and taking out a bench and trees and smashing through a dry-stone wall and coming to rest in the field.

Any witnesses are asked to call the West Yorkshire Police Major Collision Enquiry Team and ask for Det Sgt Greaves on 101.