A WOMAN was killed and four people were injured in a head-on car crash.

The 45-year-old woman, who has not yet been identified, is the sixth to die on roads in East Sussex since the beginning of the year.

A young mother and her four-year-old daughter were among those injured when a red Toyota sports car travelling east on the A259 at Little Common

collided with a Renault travelling in the opposite direction last night.

Firefighters, including crews from Bexhill and a rescue support unit from Battle, spent more than an hour freeing the driver and three passengers trapped in the Renault after the crash at 8pm.

The road was closed for several hours while the emergency services cleared the scene and began their investigations into the incident.

The 45-year-old front seat passenger in the Renault was taken to the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, but was found to be dead.

Two other passengers, a 23-year-old mother and her daughter, were also taken to the Conquest

Hospital, along with the

24-year-old driver of the Toyota.

A hospital spokesman today described the mother and child's condition as comfortable. The sports car's driver is described as stable.

The 49-year-old driver of the Renault, from

Eastbourne, was taken to Eastbourne District General Hospital by police

helicopter suffering from serious injuries.

None of the injured have been named by Sussex Police, who operate data protection guidelines. The identity of the dead woman is expected to be released later today after relatives have been notified.

The county recorded its first road death within the first few hours of the new millennium

In the early hours of New Year's Day, Jason Wood, 26, of St Leonards, died when his Ford Escort hit an electricity pylon at Whatlington.

On January 4, a 15-year-old boy was killed when the motorbike he was

riding collided with a parked van at Upper Dicker.

Pensioner Phylis Miller died after being hit by a car on January 7 while crossing the A229 at Horn's Hill. The same day a van driver from St Leonards died when his vehicle crashed at Northiam.

It happened within a mile of the scene of a three-car smash on the A21 two days earlier, where a man died after firefighters battled to free him from his

Mitsubishi Lancer.

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