THREE people have been killed in the space of 16 hours in separate accidents on the region's roads.A woman, who is believed to be in her 40s and from Essex, was killed when her car hit a lorry on the A12 at Little Glemham, near Saxmundham, at 2.

By Sarah Chambers

THREE people have been killed in the space of 16 hours in separate accidents on the region's roads.

A woman, who is believed to be in her 40s and from Essex, was killed when her car hit a lorry on the A12 at Little Glemham, near Saxmundham, at 2.20pm yesterday.

It followed the death of a male motorcyclist in a collision on the B1102 at Burwell, near Newmarket, at 10pm on Wednesday and that of a pensioner whose car hit another vehicle on the A11 at Elveden, near Brandon, at 7.40am yesterday morning.

The accidents brought the number of road deaths in Suffolk so far this year to 22.

Names of the victims have not yet been released, but police are appealing for witnesses to the accidents.

The horrific crash on the A12 happened when the woman's blue Nissan Micra, travelling southbound, was involved in a collision with a northbound seven-and-a-half tonne white Iveco lorry. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The male driver of the lorry was taken to Ipswich Hospital with head injuries, but they were not thought to be life threatening.

Long diversions were in put in place for several hours on the road, as a full accident investigation began at the crash spot, just south of the entrance to Glemham Hall.

The accident happened in a 50mph zone, just beyond the 30mph zone recently introduced through Little Glemham.

PC Graham Newson, of Suffolk police, appealed for witnesses to the collision to contact them and added: "We have no idea as to why they have collided."

The fatal accident prompted renewed calls for the long-awaited bypass scheme between Saxmundham and Wickham Market.

Campaigners want a road to skirt round the five-mile stretch of the A12, which slices through Farnham, Stratford St Andrew, Little Glemham and Marlesford.

An £18million scheme for the bypass is one of 18 projects which have been drawn up to improve safety and relieve congestion on Suffolk's roads

County councillors will look at the schemes in September and make a decision on which should be included in the next five-year road programme.

Yesterday's crash was the first fatal road accident along the stretch since 1998, when a man died at Marlesford, a Suffolk County Council spokesman said.

Between January 1, 1980, and June 30, 2004, there were 11 fatal accidents along it, with a total of 13 deaths. There were also 86 serious accidents, and 122 people seriously injured over that period.

Young speedway star James Brundle, 17, who rides for Mildenhall Fen Tigers, was seriously injured in a three-car crash on the A12 at Little Glemham last month.

Judith Spatchett, chairman of Farnham Parish Council, said the news of the woman's death yesterday was "very sad".

"We need a straight road. We want a good road to take the traffic away from the villages – and no more fatalities," she said.

"How many more fatalities until this road is done?"

The earlier fatal accidents saw a motorcyclist killed on the B1102 at Burwell, near Newmarket, after his Kawasaki machine collided with a Ford Galaxy car.

The victim of the A11 accident, a 68-year-old man, was pronounced dead at West Suffolk Hospital, near Bury St Edmunds.

His 61-year-old female passenger, believed to be his wife, was also taken to the hospital, but it is believed she only suffered minor injuries.

The accident happened when the pensioner's Ford Mondeo, which was travelling northbound, collided with a Peugeot 307.

Anyone who witnessed the accident on the A12 at Little Glemham is asked to contact Pc Newson at the Halesworth traffic unit on 01986 835350.

Witnesses to the accident on the A11 at Elveden should call 01284 774153 and anyone with information on the accident at Burwell should call 01480 456111.