Not again!

That was the reaction of Horsmonden residents after yet another crash at the crossroads in the centre of their village.

The accident in the early hours of Sunday saw a Renault Clio being driven by a 18-year-old from Maidstone shoot out of Lamberhurst Road into the path of a Peugeot Expert van being driven along the main Brenchley Road by Dave Cardoso.

Mr Cardoso, a professional DJ, was returning from a gig in Fulham to his home just 500m further down the road.

The crash was caught on Heath Stores' CCTV.

Mr Cardoso said: "There was no warning, no moment of anticipation, just suddenly, Bang!"

The Clio was spun around and ended up on top of a BT phone cabinet.

It was the sixth accident in exactly the same spot and exactly the same circumstances in the past 12 months and the third this year.

But unlike the other accidents, this time someone was hurt.

One of the two female passengers in the Clio was injured. As residents rushed to help, an off-duty nurse among them attended to the girl before the emergency services arrived. At first the young woman seemed to have no pulse and the air ambulance was summoned.

However, she did revive and was taken to hospital by land ambulance where she was kept under observation.

The accident was once again captured on the CCTV cameras at Heath Stores, whose owner Kate Mills has been campaigning for action to be taken.

She said: "Nothing has happened since the last accident in January.

"I understand that any changes need to be carefully thought through, but you would think Kent Highways would at least take some temporary measure to ensure drivers are aware they are approaching a crossroads."

Although warning signs are in place, drivers seem to easily miss them.

The Clio driver had been following an audio SatNat which had not warned him of the impending crossroads.

Both drivers were breathalysed by police at the scene. Mr Cardoso was below the limit and the Clio driver gave a zero reading.

Mrs Mills said: "Does it take someone to be killed before KCC does anything?"

Mr Cardoso considers himself - and the three people in the other car - lucky to be alive.

He said: "I was only a short distance from home. If I had been going any faster that girl could be dead. I could be dead.

"Where would that have left my wife, 12-year-old daughter and five-month old baby?"

But Mr Cardoso has not escaped unharmed. He said: "My hand is swollen up where my thumb jammed in the steering wheel. I bit my tongue and I'm walking with a limp."

Mr Cardoso's van, which he'd only bought a couple of months previously, is a write-off. Worse still, his DJ equipment is wrecked.

He said: "I had £6,000 to £7,000 worth of gear in the back. I've yet to go through it all, but I know a lot of it is broken.

"It couldn't happen at a worse time because the summer is my busiest time - I DJ at a lot of weddings."

Kent Highways' reluctance to spend money to make the junction safer is a false economy, said Mr Cardoso. He said: "I've heard they are reluctant to make any changes that are going to incur future maintenance costs for them.

"But what about the cost of the two ambulances, three police cars, two fire engines and air ambulance that attended our accident?

"That's not to mention the costs of caring for the young lady who was hurt or the damage to our vehicles or the BT phone cabinet."

Some villagers were still without a phone line today.

The Road Safety Foundation is an independent body that seeks to promote road safety across the country. It rates the nation's local authorities based on their accident record.

Kent is 73rd out of 78 counties.