Innerleithen teenager and Canadian woman die in Borders crashes

A teenager from Innerleithen and a Canadian woman have died in two separate fatal crashes in the Scottish Borders in the space of eight hours.

Lisa Anne Laurie, 19, suffered fatal injuries when her car left the A703 Peebles to Edinburgh road near Kingside Farm at about 21:25 on Wednesday.

Eight hours earlier Murielle Joanisse Vaillani, 57, from Quebec, died in a two-vehicle collision on the A701 between the Crook Inn and Tweedsmuir.

Police are appealing for witnesses.

The first accident, which took place at about 13:20 on Wednesday, involved a Dodge Caliber and a Peugeot 5008.

Ms Vaillani was a passenger in the Peugeot.

Her husband, who was driving the car, was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary suffering from shock.

The driver of the Dodge Caliber, a 39-year-old man, was taken to the same hospital suffering numerous fractures and other injuries. He is currently in a stable condition.

The road was closed for five hours while investigations were carried out at the scene.

A Lothian and Borders Police spokesman said: "We are appealing for any witnesses to the collision, and in particular we want to speak to two female motorcyclists who stopped to assist at the scene until emergency services arrived.

"Both motorcycles had foreign plates, and we are appealing to both women to get in touch with police so that they can assist our inquiries."

The second fatality occurred near the junction for Kingside Farm when Ms Laurie's black Renault Clio left the road while taking a left-hand bend.

She was travelling south when the incident occurred.

Anyone who saw the incident or was in the area at the time has been asked to contact police.