POLICE are appealing for witnesses following the death of an elderly man in a horror road crash last night.

POLICE are appealing for witnesses following the death of an elderly man in a horror road crash last night.

The 89-year-old, from Clacton, was killed after he drove the wrong way along the A12 and smashed into a van.

Police say the man, who had joined the road on the Suffolk/Essex border, had hit a red Renault Megane before hitting a Renault Traffic Van.

The driver of the Megane, a 26-year-old man from Colchester suffered minor injuries.

The driver of the van, a 37-year-old man from the Ipswich area also suffered minor injuries and was taken to Ipswich Hospital for treatment.

Officers received a number of simultaneous 999 calls from members of the public at about 8pm reporting the car travelling southbound on the northbound carriageway near the Gun Hill junction, Stratford St Mary.

Police officers were immediately sent to the A12 but prior to their arrival the car had caused several vehicles to swerve to avoid it, causing minor crashes before it collided with a van.

Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call the Stanway Road Policing Unit on 0300 333 4444.