A MOTORIST ended up in a hole...which workmen dug only minutes earlier.

Kenny Baxter, 77, and his wife Toni, 61, pulled off their drive and careered into the trench following a crash in Ashingdon Road, Ashingdon.

It involved Mr Baxter, a well-known saxophonist, in his grey Volvo and a couple in a black Ford Ranger, who were heading towards Rochford.

The hole had only just been dug by National grid workers, who were working elsewhere at the time of the accident.

Mr Baxter said: “There are temporary lights outside our house for the gas works and I looked both ways and saw nothing.

“My wife and I were fine, luckily there was nobody working in the trench at the time. It could have been a different story.”

Allan Antony, 43, who owns Mace newsagents opposite the incident, said: “There was a loud bang and the sound of breaking glass.

“It was a bit of a shock, I have never seen anything like it.”

The road was closed for almost two hours while police and fire crews dealt with the accident.

Leading firefighter Rick Jones, from Hawkwell fire station, said: “The gas workers were working around the area of the gas main at the time. Fortunately they were not down the hole when the car went through the barriers. They had a very lucky escape.”

The gas workers had gone for a rest about ten minutes earlier.

Anyone with information about the crash, which happened just after 2pm on Sunday, is asked to call PC Mark Weeble on 0300 3334444.