A car that crashed killing an eight-year-old girl inside was driving on the wrong side of the road, The Argus has learned.

The Renault Megane, which had three adults and two children inside, may have been illegally overtaking on a single-lane stretch of road divided by double white lines.

Police were last night trying to trace the driver of a silver car, which the Renault may have been overtaking just seconds before impact.

The Renault and a Vauxhall Astra were in collision on the A27 at Firle near Lewes on Saturday in heavy rain.

Residents have called for safety improvements but the authorities do not consider it a blackspot.

Sussex Police said there had been only one slight-injury accident there so far this year, but there have been fatalities in the past.

In 2003, a taxi driver died after a collision involving an overtaking car on the same stretch at Firle and in 1999, James Bond's Q, Desmond Llewelyn, died in a head-on crash at Firle. The 85-year-old actor from Bexhill was also driving a Renault Megane.

The collisions happened on Firle Straight, one of the few lengthy stretches of straight road between Lewes and Polegate, used by 20,000 people every day.

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "This accident happened during bad weather and involved a car on the wrong side of the road for an undetermined reason.

"That said, we have recognised the A27 needs improvements and there is work scheduled for the next few years.

"However, this area is not an accident cluster area so this will not be top of our priority list."

Norman Baker, MP for Lewes and Firle, called on the agency to look at the stretch of road again to see if it can be made safer but warned: "There is no magic wand."

He said: "You can't build your way out of problems - turning single-lane roads into dual carriageways doesn't stop accidents happening."

Saturday's crash claimed the life of eight-year-old Demi Hunt, from Luton. Her 34-year-old father, a passenger, has been transferred to Luton Hospital to be closer to his family.

The driver, a 30-year-old man from Dunstable, near Luton, his girlfriend and his six-year-old son were seriously injured and taken to hospitals in Brighton and Eastbourne.

They were on an Easter trip to Sussex at the time.

The Vauxhall driver, a 47-year-old woman from Portslade, and a male passenger in his 40s were also seriously hurt.

Witnesses and anyone with information about the occupants of the silver car that may have been overtaken should contact Sergeant Kevin Donovan on 0845 6070 999, quoting Operation Downing.