Police were today appealing for witnesses after a 44-year-old woman died when her car was in a head-on collision with a lorry.

Firefighters battled for several hours to free Jane Hyams, of Laburnum Grove, Canvey, after her Honda Civic hit a 16-ton lorry travelling in the opposite direction.

She had been driving along the A130 Canvey Way towards Canvey when the accident happened. An ambulance rushed her to Basildon Hospital where she died from her injuries.

A police spokeswoman said roads were closed during the rescue attempt and as accident investigators tried to piece together what had happened.

She said: "As a result of the collision the lorry ended up in a field and the road had to be closed for a considerable time to allow the vehicles to be recovered."

Lorry driver Stanley Herrington, 54, from Harlow, was also taken to Basildon Hospital suffering from shock.

Fire crews from Canvey administered emergency treatment to the woman as they struggled to cut her free from the wreckage.

Sub officer Martin Pullen said: "Some of our personnel attended to the lady, giving first aid such as maintaining an airway before the ambulance paramedic arrived.

"The crew from Hadleigh attended as well as the rescue tender from Leigh. We had to cut the roof off the car. The crews worked extremely hard to free the lady."

Traffic came to a halt on all roads leading to Canvey Way after the road was shut following the 1.40pm accident on Friday. At one point tailbacks of more than seven miles were reported to be stretching in both directions down the A127 from the A130 turn off.

The chaos brought Sadlers Farm roundabout to a standstill as motorists blocked each other as they tried to get on or off. The traffic finally started moving again around 6pm.

PC Laura Heggie of Laindon traffic said police were trying to trace drivers in the area at the time - particularly in the moments leading up to the accident.

Anyone with information should call the station on 01268 541312.

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