Car crashes at notorious accident blackspots have been slashed by half thanks to a £2.4 million road improvement blitz.

Huge investment since 1999 has more than halved the number of smashes at danger areas across East Sussex.

The results have delighted council bosses who carried out the work following a study which revealed that between 1996 and 1999 there were 611 accidents on the county's roads.

Following the improvement works, which included building mini roundabouts, signals and new junctions, there were just 295 accidents in a three year study period between 2004 and 2007.

A county council spokesman said: "It has amazed us. We really didn't expect such a massive reduction but we're obviously very pleased about it."

The biggest reduction came on the A22 near Clement Lane and Park Croft, Polegate, where there were nine accidents between 1996 and 1999.

In the second study period between 2004 and 2007 there were no accidents.

Similar results have been recorded on the A26 at Bunny Lane, in Frant, at Earwig Corner, Lewes and Silverhill, Hastings.

At the start of the study, the county council identified 172 "high accident sites" - locations in East Sussex where there had been four or more crashes within three years - and in 1999 started work on 104 of those.

This year only 30 remain categorised as dangerous.

In the intervening period between the two studies a total of £2.4 million worth of investment was carried out by East Sussex County Council.

A number of areas were deemed to not require any safety work but remain under review and could have work carried out in future.

County councillor Matthew Lock said: "This result is extremely encouraging for road safety in East Sussex. Put simply, it means that dozens of the most dangerous sections of road are no longer a serious problem.

"It also shows that the county council is extremely effective in targeting the right sites for investment and in putting the right sort of measures in. "There is still work to be done at high accident sites that have not been treated but we are making good progress."

A further £750,000 has been set aside by the county council to review speed limits in villages. It is hoped by reducing limits from 40mph to 30mph in some locations it will further reduce the accident rate.

More than 50 parishes have been told they can apply for speed limit reductions but have been warned that other safety measures may also be needed.