A GWENT pensioner - injured when his car was in a crash with a fire engine attending what turned out to be a false alarm - has died.

The crash happened in Cwmbran shortly before midday on November 19 when the man's Vauxhall Cavalier and the fire engine were involved in an accident on Henllys Way.

The fire engine was attending a reported rubbish fire in the Cwmbran area when the crash occurred.

A South Wales Fire Service spokeswoman later confirmed that a back up fire crew discovered the fire was a false alarm.

The driver of the car was trapped in the wreckage and the fire crew, who all escaped unharmed, were able to free him from his vehicle.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman last night said the unnamed man, in his 70s, and from the Cwmbran area, had died in the intensive care unit of the Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport. Police are appealing for witnesses or anyone with information to telephone the traffic department on 01633 838111.