A MAN was airlifted to hospital in a critical condition after his car smashed into a wall.

The crash happened at about 3.45pm yesterday, when a blue Kia Sorrento sped off Kiln Road, outside Castle Point Council offices, in Thundersley.

The car sped into a traffic light before hitting the wall. The male driver, in his late forties, from Thundersley, was treated at the scene, before being taken to Medway Hospital by air ambulance.

Eyewitness Aaron Hogg, 18, from Wickford, was waiting in his car at the traffic lights when he saw the crash.

He said: "There were a couple of nurses a couple of cars behind me, and they ran over towards the car.

"We turned his car off and they did medical checks before the ambulance arrived."

It is not known whether the man was unconscious before the car left the road.

Joy Hale, from the East of England Ambulance Service, said: "Our crews worked quickly to stabilise the man before handing him over to the air crew.

"He was flown to Medway Hospital in Kent, where he will undergo further assessment and care."

Police closed Kiln Road for more than two hours and there were long queues on the surrounding roads, particularly along the A127.

Roger Grimwade, from Essex Police, said: "A blue Kia Sorrento was travelling along Kiln Road, Benfleet, towards Southend.

"As it passed the Castle Point Council Office, it veered to the offside of the road where it struck a traffic signal pole and a wall.

"The driver was unconscious at the scene and flown to Medway Hospital by the air ambulance where his condition remains critical."

Anyone who saw the car prior to the accident, or the accident itself, is asked to call Rayleigh Road Policing Unit on 0300 3334444.