Icy conditions cause 24 accidents

POLICE are appealing for witnesses to an accident on the A140 near Thwaite on a morning that saw no less than 24 road crashes in the space of two hours.

The Thwaite accident happened at around 8.30am on the southbound carriageway just past the Bucks Head pub, near to the Suffolk-Norfolk border.

A 17 tonne red TDS Mercedes lorry collided into the rear of a gold S Reg Renault Clio.

The male driver of the Clio, believed to be in his 30s, was taken to Norfolk and Norwich Hospital by air ambulance. The passenger, who was also male and in his 30s, was taken to hospital by road.

Injuries to both the driver and passenger are not considered life threatening. They were taken to hospital as a precaution for suspected whiplash and minor cuts and bruises. The driver of the lorry was not injured.

The north-bound lane of the A140 was blocked by the lorry and traffic was limited to a single carriageway and tailbacks are of half a mile.

The police were expecting to have the road reopened by mid morning.

Anyone who saw the accident is asked to contact Suffolk Police headquarters traffic unit on 01473 613500.

Between 7.17am and 9.26am Suffolk Police received reports of two dozen accidents with vehicles being involved in collisions, others spinning off the road and some overturning.

It is believed no one was seriously injured in any of the accidents but many left roads around the county blocked.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk Police said: "We have had a number of traffic collisions reported to us.

"The majority are one the back roads and a lot are due to icy conditions."

N 7.17am Two vehicles were involved in a collision near RAF Lakenheath. No one was injured but the road was left partially blocked.

N 7.24am One vehicle hit a telegraph pole in Somerton between Bury St Edmunds and Sudbury and blocked the road.

N 7.50am A vehicle overturned and ended up in a field in Ilketshall St Lawrence, near Halesworth. Two people escaped uninjured from the vehicle.

N 7.51am A vehicle spun on to its side in Rede Lane, Claydon. One female was trapped but was released uninjured. The accident blocked the road.

N 7.54am Two vehicles were in collision on the A143 at Stuston leaving the road blocked.

N 7.59am A car ended up on its side in Park Road, Combs, leaving the road blocked.

N 8.12am A woman was left suffering shock and a bang to the head following a two-vehicle collision in Great Thurlow.

N 8.26am A car overturned in Harkstead leaving the road slightly blocked.

N 8.27am There was a road traffic accident in Friars Road, Hadleigh but no one was injured.

N 8.29am A lorry and car collided on the A140 at Mendlesham. An ambulance crew was called to attend the lorry driver.

N 8.29am A car and a lorry were in collision on the A140 at Thwaite.

N 8.29am A young girl came off her bicycle in Brandon.

N 8.35am Two vehicles collided on the road between Sapiston and Bardwell.

N 8.39am Three vehicles were in collision on the B1078 at Clopton. One vehicle ended up in a hedge and the other two blocked the road.

N 8.42am A car spun off the road after hitting sheet ice at the bottom of a hill on the B1078 at Clopton.

N 8.45am A car ended up in a ditch after coming off the road on the A1141 at Lavenham. The car travelling behind this vehicle also went off the road.

N 8.47am A lorry jack knifed on the A14 at Woolpit. It was off the road but debris was left scattered on the carriageway.

N 8.50am A mini bus overturned on the road between Aldham and Elmsett. All the occupants were left shaken but uninjured. The vehicle blocked the road.

N 8.51am A vehicle went off the road and into a hedge in Blundeston

N 8.52am A car skidded on ice and overturned in Needham Road, Coddenham.

N 8.53am A vehicle went off the road in Hollesley.

N 9.05am A man was knocked off his bike in Ainslie Road, Ipswich. He was left shaken but was not injured.

N 9.22am A car overturned in Onehouse. The female driver was uninjured but shaken.

N 9.26am A four-wheel drive vehicle went off the road in Lound near Lowestoft.