A WOMAN was left seriously injured after a three-car crash on the Weymouth to Bridport coast road.

A Bridport woman had to be cut out of her green Renault Clio after suffering suspected broken arms and pelvic injuries.

She was taken by air ambulance to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester.

Emergency services were called to the crash between Abbotsbury and Portesham at about 12.30pm yesterday.

A Bridport woman driving a red Renault Clio and a Plymouth man driving a Toyota Avensis were unhurt but were treated at the scene for shock.

The B3157 road was closed for most of the afternoon while the cars were removed.

Residents in Portesham said they were not surprised by the accident. Ann Martin, who owns Portesham Post Office, described the road as an ‘accident waiting to happen’.

She said: “Taking the white lines away is absolutely crazy so I am not shocked by this at all.

“It was going to happen at some point because that road is notorious for being dangerous, especially in bad weather conditions.”

The crash came on a section of road with white lines, although there have been concerns about some sections of the road where the markings had been removed.

The county council left the road without the markings in an experiment aiming to reduce road traffic casualties by taking away ‘road clutter’ including white lines and signs.

Mrs Martin added: “I understand the experiment of taking away the lines, but the roads in Dorset are not flat or straight and so it is dangerous.”

Robert Smith, the council’s road safety team manager, said people should stop blaming the road.

“It has been proven that 95 per cent of road traffic accidents are caused by human error. This might be driving too fast for the circumstances, being distracted by a mobile phone, radio or SatNav, not wearing a seatbelt or being under the influences of alcohol or drugs.

“It is the people who use it who cause the accidents.”

THE crash was the third in three weeks on the Weymouth to Bridport coast road.

Crashes earlier in the month and the removal of white lines from some sections of the road have sparked concerns.

The central markings were removed last year for resurfacing works but have been left absent by the council in an experiment which aims to reduce casualties by taking away road clutter.

The first accident happened on a stretch of the B3157 that has no central markings.

The vehicles collided close to a sharp bend half a mile east of West Bexington, leaving two people in hospital.

Another accident occurred near Swyre after a car crashed at a notorious accident black spot. Campaigners say the move is gambling with lives and a petition led by county councillor Karl Wallace is leading the calls to bring the lines back.