A MAN has died after his car left the road and plunged down a steep bank near to the Uffington White Horse monument yesterday evening, police have confirmed.

Air ambulance paramedics were scrambled to the scene of the fatal crash on Dragon Hill Road just after 8pm.

The driver, aged in his 40s, was the only occupant of the Vauxhall Zafira and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Oxford Mail:

This Google Maps picture, taken just below White Horse Hill, shows just how steep the hillside is.

His next of kin has been informed.

The circumstances surrounding the crash remain unclear however Thames Valley Police has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

A police spokesperson: "Thames Valley Police officers were called at 8.07pm yesterday by the ambulance service following reports of a single vehicle road traffic collision involving a Vauxhall Zafira in Dragon Hill Road, Uffington.

"Officers attended the scene where sadly a man aged in his forties was pronounced dead.

Oxford Mail:

Another Google Maps street view picture with the white horse carving just visible on the hillside ahead.

"His next of kin has been informed.

"The death is being treated as unexplained but not suspicious.

"A mandatory referral to the IOPC has been made due to the death occurring following police contact."

South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS) said two rapid response vehicles, an ambulance and the Thames Valley Air Ambulance rushed to the scene after receiving a call from a member of the public.

The spokesperson said the car had left the road, which passes the Uffington White Horse monument, and had 'gone down a very steep and deep bank'.

The National Trust ranger team said in a statement that it had been alerted at 5.30am this morning to an incident involving a car at White Horse Hill.

The team have been assisting the emergency services in their work.

A spokesperson added that there was minor impact damage to fencing and grassland and the historic chalk monument of the White Horse is unaffected.