Four car smash shuts coast road

Emergency services were alerted at 9.20am after reports that one car had collided with a wall and another had plunged into a river near the road’s junction with the B2095 near Lamb Inn, Hooe.

Known as Sewer Bridge, the Waterlot and Pinnock Streams pass beneath the road close by.

Police closed the A259 trunk road in both directions while rescuers went into action, leading to long traffic delays on the main coast road.

An East Sussex fire and rescue spokeswoman said: “First on the scene were appliances from Bexhill and Pevensey. Crews found that one of the cars involved had stopped short of the water but its driver was still trapped in the vehicle on the river bank.

“The aerial ladder platform was used because its extended reach made it easier to get to the car and recover the driver. Hydraulic cutting equipment was used to free the driver.”

Specialist rescue teams from Battle and Crowborough fire stations were also sent to the scene to assist. Details of casualties and injuries are not yet known.