Crash on Battle road leads to renewed safety calls

The incident unfolded at 11.15am on Tuesday when an 80-year-old man in a Vauxhall Astra tried to manoeuvre around a parked car outside the recreation ground.

According to police, the driver panicked when he encountered a car coming in the opposite direction and swerved, hitting both the parked car and the car heading towards him.

Two people were taken to hospital while a third was assessed by paramedics at the scene.

The driver has been interviewed by police.

The incident has led to fresh calls for improved safety from campaigners who claim parking on North Trade Road is putting people in danger.

In May 2010 Yvonne Clarke was clipped by a lorry, which had mounted the kerb trying to get past traffic and parked cars on North Trade Road.

Speaking about Tuesday’s incident, Yvonne said: “That accident would not have happened if that car was not parked there.

“There is going to be a head-on crash and someone is going to die.”

Shortly before Christmas, East Sussex County Council revealed proposals to introduce a no waiting zone with double yellow lines on the stretch between the police station and Wellington Gardens.

A number of people have objected to the plans and the council is currently in discussion with the objectors.

But for Yvonne, the restrictions can’t come quickly enough.

She said: “A week ago, during half term, no one could park here because they were doing works down Powdermill Lane.

“Because no one could park there, there were no broken wing mirrors in the road, no shouting and swearing, kids could run down the pavement and the traffic flowed beautifully.

“People found other places to park - on the estate, in the rec car park.

“There are no excuses.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesman said: “Before Christmas we advertised our intention to introduce a no-waiting zone with double yellow lines on the section of North Trade Road between the police station and Wellington Gardens.

“The deadline for comments to be made on this scheme passed in January and we are currently in the process of going through the small number of objections we have received and discussing the issues raised with the objectors.

“We are hopeful that this process will be complete soon and that we can begin introducing the double yellow lines on this stretch of road next month.

“We are aware that parking has been a long-standing problem on this stretch of road and hopefully residents will welcome this scheme, which should address these issues and make the road safer for motorists and pedestrians.”