TWO MAJOR A259 CRASHES IN 24 HOURS

Bexhill and Battle MP Greg Barker said they sadly highlighted hazards associated with the trunk road and added to his determination to seek safety improvements, regardless of current cost-cutting.

The first accident was at about 3.45pm on Wednesday when two cars travelling in opposite directions were in collision on the stretch of the A259 Little Common Road between Warwick Road and Knebworth Road.

The westbound vehicle, a silver Suzuki Swift, then struck a wall and a parked Volvo car. Its driver, a 29-year-old man from St Leonards-on-Sea, had to be freed by firefighters from Bexhill and Hastings.

He was taken to the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, by ambulance for treatment to serious injuries.

The other car involved, a silver Ford Focus, was being driven by a 73-year-old man from Eastbourne. He and his three passengers - aged 74, 73 and 68 - were unhurt.

Passer-by Chris Ashford said: “We were just driving back from Hastings and there was all this glass and everything across the road.

“It seemed there were three or four people in one car on the wrong side of the road facing towards Hastings, and the other car had gone into the wall and car on the other side. We sat there trying to work out what happened.”

The second smash came at around 7am yesterday when a Ford car and a light van collided at the traffic-light controlled junction of the A259 Little Common Road with London Road, just yards from Bexhill fire station.

Two fire crews were quickly at the scene, together with police and paramedics, and treatment was given to a woman trapped in the car until firefighters cut away its roof to release her. Another woman was also hurt.

As the early morning rush began to build, police directed traffic and set up diversions while the scene was cleared. Highways Agency staff removed debris and the A259 re-opened at 10.05am.

Ironically, both crashes came as local county and district councillor Martin Kenward stepped up his campaign for traffic calming on the A259 De La Warr Road, on the eastern edge of Bexhill near Glyne Gap.

Cllr Kenward met local MP Greg Barker to discuss ways of making the road safer in the wake of several accidents, including one in August near Glyne Ascent, which resulted in the death of a pedestrian.

Another along the same stretch in June involved a motorcyclist and a car colliding, and the scrambling of Sussex Air Ambulance to the scene as serious injuries were at first suspected.

Mr Barker said: “The latest nasty accidents necessitating the callout of emergency services underlines what a dangerous road this is and why action needs to be taken to do something about it.”

• Councillor’s A259 road safety campaign in full - page 4.