A 65-YEAR-OLD man from Burtonwood has become the seventh person to die on Cheshire's roads in the past week after his car ploughed through a field and hit a metal fence.

Brian Dyas, of Fir Tree Lane, was travelling along Watery Lane, near its junction with Hollins Lane, at 12pm on Monday when his blue Nissan Terrano estate left the road.

The car travelled 400 yards across a farmer's field and came to rest among trees and bushes. A police surgeon was called out and Mr Dyas was pronounced dead at the scene. Police received results of a post mortem examination on Tuesday that revealed Mr Dyas had died from natural causes.

Mr Dyas lived with his wife Gwyneth and neighbours say that he moved into a village bungalow when they were built in the 1960s.

One neighbour said: "It was a great shock to us all. He was a clever man and a great neighbour.

"He was a marvellous painter and loved working on the barges on the canal. That was his life."

The accident follows six road deaths in Cheshire in the past week.

Three drivers aged in their 20s died in accidents in Congleton, Tabley and on the M56, while a 32-year-old motorist died near Chester. Two drivers in their 60s also died following accidents in Crewe and Chester respectively.

Police say most of the collisions have occurred during the first part of the day in strong weather conditions such as frost and heavy rain.

Superintendent Richard Strachan, responsible for Cheshire's road policing strategy, has urged drivers to show more caution.

Witnesses to the accident near Burtonwood should call PC Pete McDonough on 01244 613813.