Police are investigating a head-on crash which left a 73-year-old woman dead and her 74-year-old husband fighting for his life.

A four-year-old boy who was also in the car sustained a broken collar bone.

The couple, from Aylesford, were travelling in their red Chevrolet Aveo when it collided with a silver Citroen C3 Picasso shortly before 11.15am yesterday.

The fatal smash happened on the A21 at Kent Street, near Sedlescombe, East Sussex.

The female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene while her husband remains in a serious condition at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton.

A woman and an eight-year-old girl who were in the Citroen sustained minor injuries, for which they were treated at the Conquest Hospital, St Leonards-on-Sea.

The major route was closed between Sedlescombe and St Leonards for almost six hours.

Sergeant Dan Pitcher, of the eastern Road Policing Unit, said: “This was a tragic incident and our sympathies go to the relatives of those involved, especially the lady who died.

“I would also like to thank motorists who found their journeys disrupted by the need to close the road and impose diversions, yet who showed patience and understanding in difficult circumstances.”

Police have appealed for anyone who saw what happened or noticed either vehicle being driven shortly before the crash to come forward.

They should email collision.appeal@sussex.pnn.police.uk or phone 101, quoting Operation Barr.