TWO people were killed and two children seriously injured last night after an horrific accident on one of Suffolk's busiest roads.The tragedy unfolded on the A12 at Darsham, at the notorious A144 junction, shortly after 5pm when a silver Honda 4x4 vehicle was in collision with a lorry.

By John Howard

TWO people were killed and two children seriously injured last night after an horrific accident on one of Suffolk's busiest roads.

The tragedy unfolded on the A12 at Darsham, at the notorious A144 junction, shortly after 5pm when a silver Honda 4x4 vehicle was in collision with a lorry.

A man and woman who were in the front of the Honda were killed, and the two young passengers in the rear – a girl and a boy – were rushed to hospital in a critical condition.

Last night, police said the girl was still fighting for her life, but the boy appeared to have improved slightly and his injuries were no longer thought to be life-threatening. None of the people involved have yet been named.

The A12 remained closed in both directions for more than six hours while accident investigators tried to establish what caused the tragedy.

Last night, fire crews told how they and paramedics battled in vain to save the two fatalities.

Assistant divisional officer Stuart Hood, who was in charge of the fire service involvement, said: "When I arrived the crews were still trying to release the casualties with the help of the paramedics. Two people were heavily trapped and unfortunately they died before we got them out.''

The lorry was left on its side as a result of the collision, and the Honda car had ended up on its roof.

Firefighters from Halesworth, Saxmundham and Lowestoft attended the crash and tried to release the casualties.

Inspector Mike Hinshelwood , of Suffolk police, said the two children in the car were taken to Ipswich Hospital for emergency treatment.

Last night's accident has sparked renewed calls for parts of the A12 between Ipswich and Lowestoft to be upgraded.

Work was only carried out at the A144 junction in March this year amid fears over its safety.

Suffolk county councillor for Darsham, Rae Leighton, said: "This is a disaster for a family somewhere and there will be a great deal of shock about this.

"The whole A12 is not up to standard as a main arterial road serving East Anglia. To my mind it needs severely upgrading, the road needs widening and we need dualling, not on the whole Ipswich to Lowestoft stretch, but parts of it.''

County councillor Peter Aldous, who represents Halesworth, said he uses the road for work most days and is concerned at how safe it is.

He said that lessons should be learnt from the tragedy and there should be a fresh look to see what more might be done.

The county council carried out work on the A144's junction with the A12 earlier in the year in an attempt to reduce the number of accidents.

At the time, a council spokeswoman said: "It is an ongoing accident site. People turning right out of the A144 towards Ipswich have been in collisions and we think the slip road is the cause. So it is being removed and a right-turn lane for traffic turning right off the A12 from the Lowestoft direction is being inserted in the middle of the road."