By Ted JeoryA MAN and a woman have been killed in separate accidents on two of the region's main roads.A 20-year-old man was killed and a middle-aged couple seriously injured in a two-car collision on the Essex-Suffolk border on Saturday morning.

By Ted Jeory

A MAN and a woman have been killed in separate accidents on two of the region's main roads.

A 20-year-old man was killed and a middle-aged couple seriously injured in a two-car collision on the Essex-Suffolk border on Saturday morning.

The man, who was the only occupant in a black Mini Cooper, was travelling just before noon towards Sudbury on the A134 near Horkesley Hill when the accident happened.

His car was involved in a collision with a Honda Accord, which was travelling in the opposite direction towards Colchester.

A Renault Clio also had to take avoiding action and veered off the road into a field, although none of its occupants were seriously hurt.

The 20-year-old Mini driver – who has not yet been named by police, but who is understood to be from Nayland – was declared dead at the scene.

Firefighters from Colchester and Nayland were called out and had to cut the middle-aged couple free from the wreckage of their Honda Accord.

Although the East Anglian Air Ambulance attended, the man and woman, from the Great Horkesley area, were taken to Colchester General Hospital by ambulance for treatment to injuries that are not thought to be life-threatening.

In the second accident, a 23-year-old woman was killed when her Peugeot 106 overturned on the London-bound A12 yesterday.

The woman was driving on the two-lane Ingatestone stretch of the road near Brentwood when the accident happened shortly after 5am.

The road was closed for more than four hours while emergency services, including firefighters from Chelmsford, Ingatestone and Grays, attended the scene. No other vehicles were thought to have been involved in the crash.

Meanwhile, a pensioner had to be cut free from his car and airlifted to hospital after a two-car collision on a country road.

The 74-year-old was travelling in a Ford Mondeo towards his home village of Wickham Bishops when it was involved in a collision with a Mercedes van going in the opposite direction to Witham at about 2.40pm on Saturday.

Firefighters from Witham, Colchester and Maldon were called to the scene, near Benton Hall Golf Club in Witham Road, and had to cut the seriously-injured Mondeo driver free before he was flown to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford by the Essex air ambulance.

The 33-year-old Mercedes van driver, from Wickham Bishops, was also recovering from his serious injuries in Broomfield Hospital last night. Police said both men's conditions were not though to be life-threatening.

Anyone with information about the Horkesley Hill crash should contact Stanway traffic police on 01206 762512, while anyone with information about the Ingatestone and Wickham Bishops crashes should contact Chelmsford traffic police on 01245 452918.

ted.jeory@eadt.co.uk