Fatal crash predicted at Ditchling accident hotspot

The corner near the old Royal Oak pub, Ditchling Common has seen two serious in the past two months.

The bend has seen further accidents in recent years, with one car flipping in a recent accident, according to nearby residents.

Christopher Gomm said: “They smashed into my neighbour’s wall and went half way through, it’s quite a big wall and they were embedded in it. Does someone have to get killed for the county council to do something? Sooner or later an accident will be fatal.”

He explained lights on road signs have been switched off, the road is too dark, corner chevrons are far to small and the road should be part of the 30mph limit which stops 200 yards along the road.

Police confirmed: “At 4.05am on Thursday (16 October) we received a report that a car had hit a wall in Green Road, Wivelsfield Green. The driver was slightly hurt. No other vehicle or person was involved and the road was reopened two hours later.”

The picture above shows the result of a crash in 2011, in which a car was embedded into the wall. The other shows the damage after an accident in the same spot last Thursday morning, whilst another car hit the wall in August.

Christopher continued: “The driver this morning went to hospital to have his injuries looked at and dressed, and has now left.

“According to my neighbour, another accident happened a few weeks ago, with the driver ending up through the bend in the woods. Another accident happened about six or eight weeks ago, but the car crashed on the other side of the road in the pub property and ended up on its side.”

Brian Banks, road safety manager at East Sussex County Council, said: “As part of their investigations Sussex Police will identify if any highway factors contributed to the two recent crashes. We maintain regular contact with the police and any relevant issues will be discussed as part of this process.

“Where there are road safety concerns, we will continue to monitor the situation and take appropriate action.”

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