A ten-year-old girl was seriously ill in hospital today after she was struck by a runaway car which mounted the pavement.

Shoppers watched in horror as the silver Renault estate, driven by a 72-year-old Arundel man, struck the girl and a woman in Billinghurst High Street.

The car had been travelling south when it swerved across the busy road. It hit the two pedestrians, a trader's stall near Barclay's Bank and a parked Vauxhall Vectra.

The woman suffered minor injuries but was not detained in hospital.

The ten-year-old, believed to be her daughter, was airlifted to St Richards Hospital in Chichester.

An onlooker said: "It was terrifying. I did not get what was happening at first and then all hell broke loose.

"The car smashed into traders' stands and hit another car. A young girl got in the way."

Police are appealing for witnesses to the accident, which happened at 4.40pm on Saturday.

Earlier on the same day a motorcyclist was killed in an accident in West Hoathly Road, East Grinstead.

The 26-year-old rider was turning left when his Honda CBR 600 was in collision with a Nissan car. Its 46-year-old driver, from Surrey, was not injured.

The motorcyclist, from West Hoathly, later died at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath.

Police are appealing for witnesses to both accidents. Anyone with information is asked to contact Sergeant Paul Williams at the road police unit at Haywards Heath on 0845 6070999.