A man's body lay undiscovered for several hours after he died in an early-morning car crash on the A127.

A motorist reported seeing the wreckage of the Rover 214, near the junction of Rayleigh Downs Road, at 7.30am, but it is believed the Southend man, in his twenties, had lost control of his car and crashed more than three hours earlier.

By the time ambulance crews arrived at the scene, there was nothing they could do to save him and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police closed the road and rush-hour traffic ground to a halt, causing long tailbacks into Southend.

Firefighters spent two-and-a-half hours at the scene, using a winch to move the mangled car, which had landed on the driver's side.

They were then able to cut the man's body free from the wreckage.

Assistant divisional officer Jim Jones, from Grays fire station, said: "The car had left the road and hit a steel pole, which could once have been a road sign, and then went on to collide with a tree.

"The steel post had been torn completely out of the ground and the car was completely wrapped around it with the pole up against the driver's left leg."

PC Rob O'Sullivan said: "We know this man had travelled into Essex via the Dartford tunnel earlier this morning and so believe the crash happened between 4.30am and 5am.

"As a result, we would like to speak to any motorist who may have seen this green Rover travelling along and then east-bound along the A127, as they may be able to help us establish how this collision happened."

The man has been identified, but his name has not been released by the police.

The road was closed from Rayleigh Weir for four hours, causing traffic to back up on the A13 through Hadleigh.

The same stretch of road was the site for a crash that killed three teenagers in August 2001, when they smashed into an electricity substation, near yesterday's scene.

In April 2004, a motorcyclist was airlifted to hospital with a broken collarbone after being thrown from his bike in a collision with a car at the same spot.

Anyone with information should call Rayleigh Police on 01268 775533.