Thomas Rarity, 47, from Bathgate, stopped to help a 71-year-old woman whose car was forced from the eastbound carriageway on to the westbound one following a collision on the A737 near Linwood in Renfrewshire last Sunday evening.

Mr Rarity, who was driving his Volkswagen Sharan, and another driver stopped their cars and ran across the road to try and help the elderly woman out of her car at around 8:20pm.

But as the two men were assisting the woman within her Volkswagen Polo, a Vauxhall Combo van crashed into the car and the two men.

Emergency services attended but Mr Rarity died at the scene. The 39-year-old man was taken to the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow where he was treated for head and leg injuries. Hospital staff described his condition as critical.

The 71-year-old female driver was also taken by ambulance to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley where she is being treated for a shoulder injury, but was in a stable condition.

Inspector Paul Reilly of Dumbarton's road policing department said: "Unfortunately this tragic incident shows how dangerous busy roads can be, and I would urge anyone who witnesses a road crash on a busy road not to walk along the carriageways, but contact the emergency services."