A PASSENGER was killed and another motorist left fighting for his life after an horrific head-on crash in Suffolk – bringing yet more tragedy to the county's roads.

A PASSENGER was killed and another motorist left fighting for his life after an horrific head-on crash in Suffolk - bringing yet more tragedy to the county's roads.

Two road users have now died in Suffolk in the first six days of this year, continuing the alarming rate of fatalities seen in 2003. There were 59 people killed on the county's roads last year - the highest death toll for 13 years.

A 24-year-old man from Kent died in the latest tragedy, which involved a Ford Iveco lorry, in which he was a passenger, and a Nissan Terrano .

The driver of the Nissan, which was pulling a trailer, was last night in a critical condition at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, following the crash on the B1506 between Kentford and Newmarket.

The lorry driver was also taken to hospital but his injuries were not thought to be life threatening.

It comes just days after Suffolk's roads claimed the life of 18-year-old motorcyclist Callum Crawley, of Tunstall Common, near Woodbridge, who died following an accident on the A1152 in Melton on New Year's Day.

Yesterday's accident, which happened at about 7.50am, is the third fatality on the stretch of road in little over three years.

In 2000 a National Express coach driver and a passenger died after their vehicle was in collision with a Vauxhall Vectra car.

Campaigners have now vowed to step up their bid for safety improvements to the stretch of road to prevent future fatalities.

Forest Heath district councillor Tom Goff, whose ward covers the road, said: "The accident is a great shock for everybody in the community.

"Before Christmas, we held a meeting to discuss the very serious safety issues arising from the amount of heavy goods vehicles travelling through Kentford.

"Our deepest sympathies go out to the families concerned in the accident and I hope a tragic event like this might promote action about speeding in the village."

County councillor Jane Andrews-Smith said villagers had been calling for speed cameras while a more personal crusade was reducing the number of HGV vehicles using village roads.

She added a bypass running between the A14 and A11, near the site of yesterday's accident, was also wanted and claimed it had the backing of a host of parish councils and West Suffolk MP Richard Spring.

Last night, Suffolk County Council's traffic safety manager David Chenery said: "We are in the process of revising some proposals for safety engineering works on this stretch of road.

"Once the safety audit of these works has been carried out we will be talking to the parish council again about the proposals.

"We will have to wait for the police report into today's tragic accident to see whether the condition and lay out of the road is a contributory factor before we make any decision over whether any further safety measures are needed."

Sgt Graham Burch , of Bury St Edmunds police traffic department, urged anyone who was in the area at the time of yesterday's tragedy to come forward: "We would appeal for any witnesses to contact us and in particular we think a driver of a dark coloured vehicle travelling towards Newmarket may have witnessed the collision."

Anyone with any information about yesterday's crash should contact Suffolk Police on 01473 613500.

Meanwhile a couple, believed to be married, remain in a critical but stable condition in hospital after their red Citroen car was in collision with a Jaguar on the A143 at Great Barton, near Bury St Edmunds, on Sunday .