POLICE have appealed for witnesses to a crash on a north Gwent road early this morning, in which a 23-year-old man died.

The man, who has not been named, was the sole occupant of a blue MG car which crashed into roadside trees and shrubs on the A4047 Beaufort Hill, in Beaufort, Ebbw Vale, at around 12.50am.

No other vehicle was involved. The man, who was pronounced dead at the scene, was from Abertillery.

Floral tributes have been laid at the site, on the westbound side of the A4047, some 300 metres from the Beaufort Theatre.

"It's awful. A friend of mine lives in the houses away below the main road and she was woken up by the police and fire engine sirens," said Beaufort resident Angela Hughes.

"It's a busy road in the daytime, though obviously it would have been much quieter at that time of the night, and there have been a lot of crashes like this along here.

"It's very, very sad, such a young life."

Another Beaufort resident, who didn't want to be named, said he had heard about the crash when he went to pick up his newspaper.

"It's horrible thing to have happened, just horrible. I feel for the young man's family," he said.

A section of the A4047 between the junction for the B4560 Llangynidr Road and that for Beaufort Road, was closed for more than two hours while Gwent Police, South Wales Fire and Rescue, and the ambulance service attended the scene.

The man's family is currently being supported by police officers.

Anyone who may have witnessed the collision is asked to call 101 quoting log 29 09/02/14.