Road safety campaigners are dismayed by the loss of another life at a notorious accident blackspot after an eight-year-old girl was killed in an horrific smash.

Demi Hunt was travelling with her father and some family friends when the tragedy happened.

A six-year-old boy and five adults are all on ventilators in a critical condition after the crash between two cars on the A27 at Firle near Lewes.

It is not known if the group were visiting relatives in Sussex or enjoying an Easter weekend break.

There has been a catalogue of crashes on that stretch of road, prompting calls from campaigners to make drastic safety improvements.

The crash was one of a string of accidents on Sussex roads during the Easter weekend.

In a separate incident, a 20-year-old man died early yesterday after losing control of his car and crashing into a tree in Nevill Avenue, Hove.

In a third accident, a man was taken to Worthing Hospital after being injured when he lost control of his white Ford Mondeo as he approached a roundabout on the A24 at Findon, Worthing, yesterday morning.

The car rolled on to its roof and firefighters were called to help clear the road following the accident, which happened at about 6.30am.

Seven people were trapped in the wreckage of the two cars at the Firle accident, which happened at 3.15pm on Saturday when a blue Renault collided with a silver Vauxhall.

The road was closed for more than four hours as police, fire and ambulance crews worked in torrential rain to treat the injured.

Eight ambulances, the joint Sussex Ambulance Service and Sussex Police helicopter and a doctor were eventually called to the scene as it became clear how serious the accident was.

Demi, who was travelling in the Renault, suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital, where she later died.

Her father, in his late 30s, the six-year-old boy and his father, the driver in his 30s, were all taken to Eastbourne District Hospital with serious injuries.

The driver's girlfriend, also in her 30s, was trapped for about an hour before being flown by helicopter to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton in a critical condition.

It is believed the group were all from the Luton area.

The driver of the Vauxhall, a woman in her 40s, and the passenger, a man in his 30s, were also seriously hurt and taken by ambulance to the Royal Sussex Hospital in Brighton. The woman yesterday had an operation to have her ankle pinned and also had a broken leg.

Ambulance officer Glenn Borthwick, who attended the incident, said: "Having been in the ambulance service for 20 years this was one of the most serious crashes I have attended."

Forecasters said up to six millimetres of rain fell in the area between noon and 6pm on Saturday and it is believed there would have been a considerable amount of standing water on the road at the time.

The accident happened near Middle Farm at Firle and owner Rod Marsh said it was the second serious accident on the road in two weeks.

Last year engineers for the Highways Agency spent three months working to move a layby and build a designated turning lane into Burgh Lane and Wick Street near the farm to try and improve safety.

East Sussex County councillor for the area Pat Ost said: "This is an extremely dangerous and deceptive stretch of road.

"Because of the way the road is graded it can sometimes be difficult to notice approaching traffic until it is too late. I have lost count of the number of accidents and fatalities on that road over the years and I am sorry it has happened again."

Norman Baker, MP for Lewes, said: "I am obviously very sorry to hear about the accident and commiserate these families who have suffered as a consequence.

"The Department for Transport has been improving road safety along the A27 and the number of accidents has decreased recently. I will get an accident report from this incident and see if any lessons can be learnt and if any steps can be taken to improve road safety."

Sussex Police are appealing for any witnesses to both fatal accidents to call them on 0845 6070999, quoting Operation Downing for the Firle incident and Operation Kestrel for the Hove incident.