A speedway rider has been arrested after a three-vehicle road smash which left one man dead and another fighting for his life.

Racer James Clement, 20, formerly a junior rider for Eastbourne Eagles, was driving back from a competition in Weymouth to his Hailsham home when his van was in collision with two other cars on the A24 Warren Road in Worthing.

The cause of last Saturday's 5am accident is not yet known.

It involved four people in a Rover and a couple from Lewes in a Mercedes Estate.

The driver of the Rover, a 20-year-old man from Kent, died instantly and another passenger, from Reading, received serious head and facial injuries.

Five ambulances and three fire crews were sent to the scene.

Mr Clement had to be cut from his van and suffered a broken collarbone and chest injuries.

He was taken to Worthing Hospital with the two other Rover passengers, a woman from Eastbourne and another man from Reading, and the two people in the Mercedes.

Paramedics took the critically-ill passenger from the Rover to the hospital,but he was later transferred to a London hospital for specialist treatment.

Mr Clement was arrested as he was released from hospital at the weekend and was later bailed pending further inquiries.

The speedway star had helped the Weymouth Wildcats to Conference League victory over Rye House at the Wessex Stadium last Friday before the accident.

He started racing with the Eastbourne Eagles as a teenager, appearing at the Arlington circuit, near Hailsham, for almost two years before moving on to join the Wimbledon Dons.

Mr Clement signed with the Weymouth Wildcats less than two months ago but the club's official web site says he is expected to remain out for the rest of the season in the wake of the accident.

Weymouth Wildcats manager Brian White said: "We hope he is recovering well."