A MOTORIST was injured today in a three car crash on a busy stretch of road where villagers have been waiting three years for safety improvements.

By Richard Cornwell

P5 downpage

A MOTORIST was injured today in a three car crash on a busy stretch of road where villagers have been waiting three years for safety improvements.

The accident happened during the rush-hour on High Road, Trimley, as people were en route for work and taking children to school.

Police and an ambulance crew were called as the three vehicles collided outside the Post Office and Stores – a notoriously narrow part of the road, where congestion is caused by people parking outside the shop.

It is understood the crash happened as someone pulled away from a parking space as traffic was coming through from Trimley St Mary.

A police spokesman said one person suffered a neck injury and was taken to Ipswich Hospital for treatment.

Officers spent nearly an hour at the scene directing traffic and ensuring tailbacks were kept to a minimum while the accident was cleared.

Residents of both Trimley St Mary and St Martin have been concerned at the stretch of High Road for the past few years – with their biggest fear being an accident involving a car pulling out of Church Lane, where drivers' visibility is virtually nil because parking at the shops blocks the view of oncoming traffic.

The county council has now agreed a safety scheme involving yellow lines and limited waiting on High Road. Villagers are now just waiting for a start date on the work.

Councillors are keen not to affect the business of the shop – vital for the community – but want to make the sight-lines better and improve visibility.

At this month's parish council meeting, councillors urged as quick a start as possible on the work as the area was "an accident waiting to happen".

Councillor Nigel Bantoft said where matters of public safety were concerned, councils should have the power to dispense with procedure and take action far more quickly. It was ridiculous that the community had to wait three years for something as simple as yellow lines, leaving people at risk of injury or death.