QUICK-THINKING onlookers used a hammer to smash a van windscreen to save a trapped driver from the wreckage.

Ash Moorcroft and his partner, off-duty police officer Charlie Robert, heard the impact of a crash between a car and a van at a notorious accident blackspot.

The smash happened at the junction of Fingringhoe Road, Weir Road and Rectory Road, in Rowhedge, on Monday evening.

When the pair arrived at the scene, they found a jogger had already stopped to enter the van, which had flipped onto its side.

With the ambulance service on the way, Mr Moorcroft used a small metal hammer to smash the windscreen and get to the woman trapped inside.

“I got cuts all over my hands, but that’s another story,” he said.

Mr Moorcroft said the car was travelling along Weir Lane on to Rectory Road while the van was coming from Fingringhoe towards Colchester.

He said it appeared the car had gone over the white line and seemingly clipped the van before it spun out.

The driver of the car and her young child were uninjured in the crash.

“It was absolutely miraculous how there were no injuries based on the sound of the impact,” said Mr Moorcroft.

Campaigners have long been calling for fresh safety measures following a series of serious accidents at this stretch.

Mike Lilley, Colchester councillor for Old Heath and the Hythe, said action must be taken before someone is killed.

“We started a petition up and everyone we spoke to in Rowhedge signed, saying someone is going to get killed there unless action is taken,” he said.

Mr Moorcroft, who grew up in Rowhedge, added his voice to the campaign following this latest crash.

“The issue isn’t so much that cars come through too fast, it is the fact you can’t see around the corner,” he said.

“Even if it was made a 40mph it could help.

“There is not enough time to see around the bends to get across the junction.

“It simply needs to be reduced and there should be stop signs put in place.”

He added: “A while ago there were red strips which make the car vibrate on approach, but when it was resurfaced they were never put back.”

An Essex Highways spokesman said: "Issues at this junction and safety concerns have not been raised before with the Colchester Local Highway Panel, which manages local safety improvements - this would be the first step in getting the junction looked into.

“The number of recorded collisions at the junction is not exceptional, however if residents have concerns, they need to contact East Donyland Parish Council who can then raise the issue with the panel, in order to get an initial assessment on whether improvements would be appropriate.”