POLICE have launched an investigation after a cyclist died yesterday following a collision with a van in Suffolk.Kevin Spraggons, 42, of Taylor Road, Hadleigh, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which happened at 5.

POLICE have launched an investigation after a cyclist died yesterday following a collision with a van in Suffolk.

Kevin Spraggons, 42, of Taylor Road, Hadleigh, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident, which happened at 5.50am on the A1071 between Wolves Wood and Hadleigh.

Sergeant John Hawkes, of Suffolk police, said the driver of the light grey Ford Escort van involved in the crash was extremely distressed when officers arrived and that an accident investigation was being carried out.

Traffic had to be diverted away from the road and motorists faced delays as queues built up along the route.

The van suffered damage to its bumper, roof and a smashed windscreen. It is thought the cyclist was carried up to 30 metres as a result of the impact.

Both the cyclist and the van driver were traveling towards Hadleigh at the time of the accident.

The stretch of road where the tragedy took place is notorious for accidents and extra safety measures have only recently been put in place, with calls being made to reduce the current 60-mile-per-hour speed limit of the road.

Elsewhere there were a number of other accidents on roads throughout the county.

In Felixstowe just before 9.25am two vehicles collided in Bath Road.

A police spokesman said neither driver were believed to have been seriously injured.

The Newmarket-bound carriageway of the A14, at Gazeley, was also closed for one-and-a-half hours following a collision between a lorry and a car yesterday. No serious injuries were suffered in the accident.

At 7.20am, a car left the road on the B1113 between Old Newton and Bacton, but the driver was not hurt. There were reports of ice patches and flooding in the area.

A car was also involved in a minor collision with a lorry in Pound Corner, Barningham, near Stanton, at 8.35am. No one was injured.

Anyone with information about the accident on the A1071 is asked to call PC Barry Humm at Suffolk Police Force Head Quarters Road Policing Unit on 01473 613500.