THREE young men were injured - one critically - after a horrific road smash involving the car they were travelling in and a van.

The trio, have not been named but are believed to be in their early 20s, were taken to the Royal London Hospital, in Whitechapel, east London, by London Ambulance Service (LAS) after the collision in Hacton Lane, at around 1.15am on Sunday.

One of the group sustained serious head injuries, police said, and underwent emergency surgery.

Now residents have called for improved safety measures on the road, claiming accidents are common.

Julie Gauci said: “It is not the first accident that we have had on the road but it has got to be the most serious.

“I have never seen so many police cars and ambulance there but I think something needs to be done on the road because although there is traffic lights for the drivers there is nothing to help the pedestrians get across the road.”

The young men, who were travelling in a black Ford Fiesta, remain in hospital.

The van driver, a man in his 60s, was taken to Queen’s Hospital, in Rom Valley Way, Romford, with minor injuries.

A resident, awoken by a loud bang, rushed to the scene to help and comforted the driver of the car - who it is believed was catapulted through the front windscreen.

“The driver looked like he was in a really bad state,” said the man, who asked not to be named. “He was just walking down the road in a confused state with blood just dripping form his head and I just went over and tried to sit him down on the road because I was worried that he could end up in a worse state.”

He added that a large group of people who had gathered on the road following the accident.

A shopkeeper in the area said: “I could see that it was something serious because there were lots of police cars, ambulance and lots of fire engines and you could just see the damage to the car and van.”