CALLS have been made for investment in Castle Point’s roads after a serious crash caused gridlock for more than three hours.

Drivers stuck in traffic jams abandoned cars after Long Road, Canvey, was closed in both directions as firemen and paramedics freed a driver with a suspected back injury.

Campaigners have called for better roads after the crash, which was the latest in a series of accidents and roadworks to bring the borough to a standstill.

Dave Blackwell, leader of Canvey Island Independence Party, said: “There is a major problem on Canvey with its infrastructure.

“It seems not a week goes by without traffic being held up by accidents.

“Over the past month we have an accident in Somnes Avenue and the gasworks in Benfleet High Street.

“There is so much development on Canvey and so many vehicles it only takes a small accident to cause chaos.”

Firefighters took more than an hour to cut the roof off a grey Ford Galaxy people carrier to free the male driver after the collision with a black Vauxhall Meriva near the junction of Long Road and Deepwater Road at about 6pm on Monday.

Drivers knocked on nearby homes and businesses asking to use the toilet as the main route through Canvey was closed in both directions until 9pm.

After firefighter had freed him, the man was taken to Southend Hospital for treatment. Paramedics treated the other driver, a woman, at the scene for a minor foot injury.

A 73-year-old man in Long Road, who saw the aftermath of the accident, but asked not to be named, said: “It looked to me like the small car was coming out of Deepwater Road.

“It was stopped in the middle of the road coming out of Deepwater Road and facing the houses in front.”

An ambulance service spokeswoman said: “We dispatched a rapid response vehicle, which was on scene within a fewminutes, and an ambulance to help the two patients involved.”