TWO vehicles crashed on the same road in separate incidents this morning (Friday).

Police were called at about 8.05am to an incident on the A6093 between Haddington and Pencaitland.

The stretch of road between Jerusalem and Samuelston was said to to be icy by a local resident.

One vehicle crashed into a tree after going around a bend and another ended up in a field at the side of the road about 100m away from the first accident.

The ambulance service attended the scene.

A local resident said that he believed the road was covered in black ice and that the gritters did not appear until 9.30am after the two accidents had taken place.

The man, who wished not to be named, said: “I saw that one car which looked like a black Nissan pickup truck had crashed into a tree just after going around a bend.

“It must have been going quite fast from the looks of the tree.

“Another car has also driven off the road and into a field about 100m further up.

“There were three or four police cars and an ambulance.

“This happened at the beginning of rush hour, just after 8am. It looks like there was black ice on the road.”

He believed that the speed limit at the stretch of road by the bend where the crash took place should be reduced to 40mph.

A police spokeswoman said: “Police were called to an incident at 8.05am between Haddington and Pencaitland. There were at least two vehicles involved in two separate incidents on the same stretch of road. The ambulance service attended.”

An East Lothian Council spokeswoman said: "East Lothian Council is responsible for the maintenance of over 1,000 km of roads across the county.

"A priority system is operated which means that roads covered in our priority one gritting routes are gritted following weather forecasts indicating the onset of frost, ice or snow if issued sufficiently early.

"To be most effective, gritting should take place before ice forms or snow settles.

"Anticipating these conditions, and reacting correctly, depends on a mixture of local knowledge and experience, good local weather forecasts and an awareness of the current road condition e.g. is it wet, dry, previously treated or not etc.

"The decision to grit roads is taken by on-duty staff who are on standby 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the winter period.

"Weather forecast information received by East Lothian Council on Thursday and updated late into the evening and the early hours of Friday did not indicate low or freezing temperatures requiring gritting operations.

"The forecast changed, with indications of low temperatures, around 6am on Friday morning when gritters were then deployed on priority routes.

"Drivers are reminded to be aware of conditions and take extra care when travelling in winter conditions and to drive accordingly.”