A 21-year-old man from Cranbrook was killed and his passenger seriously hurt in a car crash last night. The accident happened near The Peacock public house in Glassenbury Road, Cranbrook, shortly after 9pm.

The man who died was driving a Peugeot 306 which hit a tree. His passenger, a retained firefighter from Marden, suffered severe back injuries and was taken to the Kent and Sussex Hospital at Tunbridge Wells.

The first firefighters on the scene were from Marden and discovered they were treating one of their own men. Crews from Cranbrook, Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone followed, using hydraulic cutting and winching equipment to free the two men.

A medical team and doctor from the Kent and Sussex Hospital were also in attendance. It took firefighters an hour to free the men.

Assistant chief fire officer for Kent, Paul Grout, said: "The crew from Marden responded to the incident not knowing until they arrived at the scene that one of their colleagues was involved. Despite their initial shock, they acted with total professionalism to rescue both occupants of the vehicle."