SURREY County Council’s decision not to close the A31 gap connecting Runwick Lane and River Lane was thrust back into the spotlight after the second multi-vehicle smash at the junction in a matter of months.

Up to four cars were reportedly involved in the latest collision at the junction one mile east of the Coxbridge roundabout, during the morning rush-hour on Thursday, September 29. No injuries were reported but the crash caused significant disruption to traffic.

It comes just months after a 79-year-old woman was left fighting for her life and another driver nursing serious ankle and foot injuries following a two-vehicle crash at the same junction on July 6.

The woman, from Farnham, was airlifted to St George’s Hospital in Tooting with “life threatening” injuries including a fractured pelvis, two broken wrists, three broken ribs and a bleed to the brain - but was thankfully described by doctors as ‘stable’ just days after the crash.

Following calls by the public to close the gap in the immediate aftermath of the July crash, Surrey County Council promised to undertake a road safety review of the junction.

However, a council spokesman later confirmed that following the review the decision had been made to keep the River Lane gap open - albeit with a promise to cut the grass on the A31 central reservation to improve sight lines.

The spokesman said: “Following the July 6 collision a site visit took place to review some of the gaps, and it was concluded that sight lines and visibility were okay and no further action was required.”

Latest figures by the Department for Transport show seven crashes occurred in the vicinity of the A31 Runwick Lane/River Lane junction between September 2011 and May 2015, involving a total of 19 vehicles and nine casualties.

The most serious of these, on December 8, 2014, claimed the life of 11-year-old Bentley schoolgirl Pravini Angel Parathisan - although the junction was not cited as a contributing factor in the fatal crash by coroner Simon Wickens.