THERE were heavy delays on the A27 eastbound earlier today after a 4X4 car crashed with a lorry.

The accident happened just before 4.10pm, closing the road.

Emergency services were called to the collision, as pictured below by Argus photographer Allan Hutchings, after witnesses dialled 999.

The Argus:

Firefighters cut one woman, thought to be aged in her 30s or 40s, free from the wreckage of a silver-coloured Jeep-style vehicle.

This picture (below) by Tim Ridgway shows the jeep after it had its doors taken off by firefighters.

The Argus:

The woman was wheeled away on a stretcher towards an ambulance, conscious but visibly suffering from shock. The extent of her injuries are not clear.

Three fire crews, one each from Brighton, Hove and Lewes, were sent to the scene because the woman was medically trapped. This picture by Allan Hutchings (below) shows crews packing up hydraulic cutting gear after freeing the casualty.

The Argus:

A police spokesman said the eastbound carriageway was closed with diversions in place while the vehicles were recovered and the scene made safe.

The fire service had left the scene by 5pm and there were residual delays until about 7pm.

One passer-by, who did not see the accident first-hand, suggested the 4X4 was caught by the lorry during a manoeuvre, sending it spinning out of control.

The lorry involved, pictured with a blue slanted E on its back, was a foreign-registered vehicle, believed to be from the Netherlands.