A man has died and a woman was seriously injured and flown to hospital after a horror crash near a Dumfries and Galloway holiday park.
The man, who was driving a Ford Ranger pickup towing a trailer with a number of dogs within it, died at the scene of the crash on the A75 Gretna to Stranraer road on the outskirts of Creetown, near Newton Stewart .
The pickup was involved in the pile-up with three other vehicles - two cars and an articulated lorry.
A 43-year-old woman who was driving one of the cars, a silver Suzuki Swift, was seriously injured.
Her vehicle ended up on its side while another vehicle escaped being badly damaged.
The vehicles were involved in collision with the Scania articulated lorry with a freezer container near Castle Cary Holiday Park around 2.45am on Saturday, July 7.
The road has been closed throughout the day as an accident investigation went on at the scene and Police Scotland officers are appealing for information.
The dead man has not been identified by police but the 43-year-old woman was airlifted by an air ambulance after being treated at the scene by paramedics and air ambulance staff.
She was flown to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow with serious back injuries.
A 14-year girl who was a passenger in the Suzuki Swift was uninjured and the driver of the lorry, a 25-year-old man, was also unhurt.
Firefighters were called to the scene and they had to use specialist cutting equipment.
Sergeant Bob McNay at Lockerbie Police Office is appealing for anyone who was driving in the area at the time and who may witnessed the collision or have related dashcam footage to contact him via 101.
One man who was living nearby said: “I was awakened by a huge bang. I didn’t know what it was at first and then I heard the emergency vehicles going past.”
Another said: “As daylight came it was a scene more like a battlefield. There seemed to be vehicles everywhere including ambulances, police and fire engines.”
There was also a major alert because of fears of contamination to the River Cree estuary and several bays around the Solway Firth as the accident happened alongside the tidal Cree.
It was feared that fuel had spilled into the water and Dumfries and Galloway Council said: “As a result of risk to human health from chemical contamination, the Council has temporarily closed to food business operators in the production of shellfish from Fleet Bay and Wigtown Bay.
“Due to the health risk, people are strongly advised not to gather shellfish for their own consumption from the area. The council is continuing to monitor the area and review the situation.
Inspectors from the Solway River Purification Board and council environmental officers are working in the area and monitoring the position.
They are asking members of the public to report any signs of pollution.
