A MAN was killed in a crash on Sunday morning at a notorious accident black spot on the A338 near Fordingbridge.

Hampshire Police said the incident, which occurred on a bend between Hern Lane and Lawrence Lane, involved a white Ford Transit van which crashed into a tree at around 4.30am.

The driver of the vehicle, thought to be a man in his 30s, died at the scene. He has yet to be formally identified, but is believed to come from the Ringwood area.  He worked for Bournemouth-based boiler installation company Glow Green.

Neighbours were first alerted to the incident when they saw blue lights flashing in the road outside their homes.

Peter Taylor, 72, and his wife Chris, 74, said their first thought had been “not another one”, in a stretch of road they said has seen at least six serious crashes in the past nine years.

“There is a good long straight road either side of the bend so people pick up speed, and a lot of cars overtake, but then they get to the corner and lose control,” said Mr Taylor.

“There need to be signs warning people it is a black spot,” added Mrs Taylor, who said she is too frightened by passing traffic to cross the road to use the bus stop and has to travel into Ringwood and change to get the bus to Salisbury.

Neighbour Rosemary Jeff, 70, said they had seen cars come off the road and smash through hedges on both sides after coming round the bend – often causing the occupants serious injuries.

“They need to take out the bends in the road and straighten it up,” she said.

“There were plans to build a dual carriageway along here back in the 1990s but they have been shelved, not enough money. We have lived here for 20 years and there has been no end of trouble.”

Police closed the road for around five hours while an investigation was carried out and recovery work undertaken.

Officers said that they were keen to speak to the occupants of a black or dark coloured vehicle who may have stopped to assist, but left the scene prior to police arrival.

Contact Sergeant Adrienne Jerram in the Serious Collision Investigation team at Eastleigh police station with information on 101, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

THE stretch of road between Ringwood and Fordingbridge has claimed several lives since the death of 20-year-old Debbie Merritt in 2004.

Four years later 39-year-old rally champion Paul Choat died in a crash near Blashford, and 25-year-old Andrew Callis was killed in a head-on collision with a double-decker bus.

In 2009, a young Poole woman was killed when her car collided with a lorry. In 2010, 20-year-old Frazer Harbison died when his motorbike left the road.

Earlier this year an elderly couple had to be cut from their vehicle by the fire service following a crash just a short distance from yesterday’s incident. They escaped with minor injuries.