SEVEN people were taken to hospital after a crash involving two cars, one driven by a 94-year-old man and the other by a 17-year-old boy.

Emergency services were called to Goring Road, Goring, following the collision between a Dacia Sandero and a Citroen C2 this afternoon.

An air ambulance was also called to the scene.

Rescuers had to cut a door off the Dacia to free the elderly driver, who was with his daughter.

The teenage Citroen driver had three passengers – a 16-year-old girls and a man and woman, both aged 21.

Everyone involved was taken to Worthing Hospital apart from the 17-year-old, who went to the Royal Sussex County in Brighton with a chest injury.

Ambulance crews reported that seven people were hurt but the age and gender of the seventh is unknown.

None of the injuries is thought to be life threatening.

Dave Barrow, 82, a resident in neighbouring Harvey Road, saw the aftermath of the crash.

He said: “I was on my way back from Ferring and then saw Goring Road was blocked off.

“I turned around and parked next to the scene of the accident because the traffic wasn’t moving, then saw a couple of young girls sitting on the pavement.

“I wanted to see what there was I could do because the girls were very shaken.

“I brought them an umbrella then let them sit in my car to warm up because the weather wasn’t helping.”

James David, who lives in Goring Road, said the accident was not the first.

He said: “This has been happening for several years.

“Cars are always misjudging their speed along the road and crashes seem to happen a couple of times a year.

“It amazes me how it is a 40mph zone with schools round the corner.”

Mr David, 47, wants a change to the main road.

He said: “I have been campaigning for years to get things changed. There is no need for the speed limit to be so high.

“I don’t want any fatalities so things need to change.”

Cars had to be diverted for hours after the crash and schools texted parents to warn them not to drive so that they avoided traffic. Buses also stopped running in the area.

June Wren was shocked when she returned home to see the accident on her doorstep.

She said: “I had just driven back from Gatwick and arrived when it was all going on.

“I saw the elderly man in one of the cars and some youngsters in the other one. It looked awful.”

Police are appealing for people with information to come forward.