TWO children luckily escaped with only minor injuries following a four-vehicle crash on the A127.

Two vans initially smashed into each other after a driver stopped on the Southend-bound carriageway of the road next to the “Welcome to Essex” sign, near Great Warley.

David Amber, from Basildon, was the driver of one of the vans, which also had his partner’s children, aged seven and five, inside.

The children were not seriously harmed, but suffered minor whiplash and bruising.

Mr Amber and other drivers believe a Ford KA which came to a near stop caused the vans to collide as they could not stop in time, with both vehicles being written off. The driver of the car reportedly picked up speed and left the scene.

Two other cars also crashed, but were not seriously damaged. Police attended the scene with the road cleared later in the afternoon.

Thankfully, no-one was seriously hurt during the incident, which took place on Saturday at about 1.10pm.

Mr Amber is thankful the children were not badly harmed, but criticised the driver for not stopping.

He said: “I was in a flow of traffic joining the A127 from the M25 slip road, and two cars ahead of me there was a hesitant driver in what looked like a yellow KA.

“As the driver was getting slower and slower, a van hit me from behind hard, writing off mine and his vehicle, I believe the yellow car saw this but decided to drive on.

“This driver’s actions caused this crash, and they were dangerous. Thankfully it was only the vehicles that were damaged.

“The two kids in my van had minor whiplash and bruises, and were definitely shaken up by it. The van has been completely written off, but this driver didn’t even stop.

“I’m baffled by how they could just drive away. The police took statements from us all but because the registration was out of sight there’s probably little they can do.”

Mr Amber added that someone needs to be held accountable.

He added: “Whilst it was the driver going into the back of me, this car in front was barely moving, which is dangerous on such a busy road.”

Another driver from Basildon who was at the scene also blasted the “reckless” actions of the other driver.

The driver, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “I was a couple of cars back and saw the yellow car stop, this reckless act meant other drivers couldn’t stop in time.

“It’s just unbelievable that someone wouldn’t stop after something like this. There were children in that van and now two drivers have no vehicle. They could easily do it again, which is the scary thing.

“Luckily no-one has been badly hurt this time, but there could be a next time.”

Essex Police confirmed they attended the incident, but will not be investigating the crash further, due to there being no serious injuries.