TWO motorists were fighting for their lives after separate accidents in thick fog on the A14 at opposite ends of Suffolk.

TWO men were fighting for their lives after separate accidents in thick fog on the A14 at opposite ends of Suffolk.

A lorry driver from Ipswich was fighting for his life today after a horror crash on the Newmarket by-pass.

And a motorcyclist suffered suffered a fractured leg and was left with potentially life-threatening injuries in an accident near Levington, between Ipswich and Felixstowe.

The first smash happened just after 5am today when two HGVs collided on the Cambridge-bound carriageway of the A14 near the Newmarket service stations.

The driver of Volvo lorry from Ipswich was taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with potentially life-threatening injuries after firefighters took around an hour to cut him free from his cab following the accident close to the road's link with the A11.

All three lanes of the carriageway were closed by police, leaving motorists facing long tailbacks of up to six-miles, with diversions in place along the A142.

Traffic was brought to a standstill as drivers waited more than an hour without moving in queues stretching back to Kentford and beyond.

One lane of the A14 has now been re-opened.

Meanwhile in Ipswich a motorcyclist was taken to hospital with a shoulder injury following a collision with a car in Duke Street.

The accident happened at just after 7am today at the junction with Wykes Bishop Street, opposite the new Tesco Metro store.

The male motorcyclist's injuries were not thought to be life-threatening and the driver of the car was unhurt.

Elsewhere in the region the M25 was closed in Hertfordshire between the M1 junction and the A10 junction, causing major problems for motorists heading around the capital.

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said: “We would like to put a safety message out about fog, which has been reported to be bad in patches, particularly in the west of the county.

“We would ask motorists to use the correct lights for the weather conditions, use dipped headlights not full beam, and use fog lights if visibility is 100 metres or less, but remember to switch them off when visibility improves.

“We would also remind them not to hang on to the tail-lights of the vehicle in front and leave plenty of room between themselves and the car in front.”