AN AMBULANCE boss has hit out at “inconsiderate” drivers after their abandoned vehicles forced an emergency medical crew to walk a quarter of a mile to reach a serious road accident.

AN AMBULANCE boss has hit out at “inconsiderate” drivers after their abandoned vehicles forced an emergency medical crew to walk a quarter of a mile to reach a serious road accident.

Head of Essex Ambulance Service's Incident Support Unit, Steve Wheaton, said after Tuesday's major crash on the A12 that similar behaviour by motorists could one day result in an unnecessary death.

The accident happened shortly after 1pm when a Vauxhall Corsa heading towards Colchester lost control and crossed the central reservation, apparently without touching the crash barriers.

It ploughed into a 4x4 vehicle which was towing a trailer in the opposite direction, between the Kelvedon South turning and Rivenhall End.

The aftermath of the crash saw huge delays in both directions of the busy dual carriageway.

The road was closed each way until being reopened at 6.15pm, with police reporting very heavy traffic flows more than an hour later. Motorists faced long delays, including Ipswich Town midfielder Darren Currie who, despite initially being named in the team to face Leeds United last night, ended up on the bench because he couldn't get to the ground in time.

But speaking after the accident Mr Wheaton said: “Once again we had a major issue with drivers abandoning their vehicles and walking along the carriageway to have a look.

“One of our ambulance crews actually had to abandon their vehicle and walk about quarter of a mile along the roadway to get to the scene.

“Drivers should never leave their vehicles unattended on roads like this unless they have been involved in an accident.”