A12: Ipswich man describes how he helped crash victim

Suffolk/Essex: An Ipswich man has today described how he helped a crash victim who he claims was lucky to escape without serious injuries.

Drivers faced long delays on the A12 yesterday after two crashes in less than 15 minutes.

Colchester fire crews were first called at 5.30pm to a collision between a motorbike and a car transporter lorry on the northbound road between Eight Ash Green and Spring Lane.

Then a second smash happened just one junction away, near Marks Tey, at 5.42pm, where one car flipped upside down and another hit the central reservation.

Network Rail engineer Shaun Watson saw the crash as he drove back to his home in Brookfield Road, Ipswich, and stopped to help the builder whose van rolled over.

The 40-year-old said: “He was very lucky to get out given the state of the van. When I saw it flip over, I thought he was going to be really badly hurt.

“His head was bleeding quite badly but he was talking, and we managed to wrench open the door and get him out.” Four fire crews and several paramedics went to the aid of the injured man who was also taken to hospital for treatment.

Police closed one lane of the northbound road for about two hours so all the vehicles could be recovered.