A RESIDENT has called on major changes to an “accident hotspot” after a collision last week saw a woman airlifted to hospital.

As reported online in The Gazette, a woman driving a Mini Cooper was involved in a collision with a Transit van on the B3349 Reading Road, Mattingley on the morning of June 20.

The van ended up on its side on the carriageway, while the Mini swerved off the road and onto an embankment.

An eyewitness said he saw four or five people smash the windows of the Mini to try to help the woman who had become stuck in the car which was on fire.

Now one local, who wished to remain anonymous, has called on Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Constabulary to change the speed limit on that road.

In a series of letters to both establishments, the resident wrote: “In the last twelve months or so I have written to your offices regarding the dangerous driving that takes place on the B3349.

“I have pointed out that according to your own data, drivers regularly exceed speeds limits by more than 20 to 30 miles an hour, resulting in many witnessed near-miss crashes and serious injuries. For reasons best known to you, a very low priority has been given to addressing providing a safe environment for users and residents.”

He said: “The emergency services took more than 15 minutes to respond to the car from the motorway and a further five minutes for the fire service.”

The resident added: “There was a lady trapped in the mini which was on fire and if not for drivers and residents she would have burnt to death as she was pinioned because the doors were jammed on both sides.

“This was a traumatic situation for all and avoidable if action had been taken to slow traffic as requested. “Hopefully we will not have to wait for the next incident.”

Fire crews from Hartley Wintney, Fleet and Basingstoke were called to the scene last week to free the woman and extinguish a fire in the engine bay of the Mini.

Two men were treated at the scene for minor injuries, while the driver was taken to hospital by air ambulance. Hampshire Constabulary said it was unable to comment as an investigation into the collision was ongoing.

Councillor Rob Humby, HCC’s executive member for Environment and Transport, said: “I was very sorry to hear of this accident and hope that those involved are making a full recovery.

“While I can confirm that there is no record of injury accidents on this particular section of the road in the past 10 years prior to this accident, we now await the outcome of the police investigation into the circumstances of the collision before a course of action is decided.

“I don’t think speculating about the possible causes or circumstances of the accident is helpful at this point.”