Thick fog brought mayhem to Yorkshire roads today with 27 accidents on the M62 near Ferrybridge, 50 vehicles caught in around 17 smashes on the A64 near Tadcaster and a series of further smashes on the A1.

Drivers head through thick fog away from the crash scene on the A64 west of Tadcaster today

Angry police dealing with the A64 accident between Tadcaster and Bramham reported vehicles travelling at 60mph-plus with side lights only in spite of the road conditions.

The foggy westbound carriageway of the Tadcaster bypass was closed and the eastbound was brought to a standstill after 40-50 vehicles were involved in minor bumps and shunts sparked by a single smash.

A woman five months pregnant was taken to York District Hospital for a check-up and several others were treated for injuries but no-one was seriously hurt in the A64 chaos.

A spokesman for Selby police said vehicles were still screaming into the accident area at between 60mph and 70mph with side lights.

He said seven police units were at the scene trying to bring sanity to the situation.

Officers in patrol cars with lights flashing were doing a "rolling block" at low speed for eight miles between York and the accident scene to try to slow motorists down.

Traffic constable PC Gary Lumb said: "People were driving too fast in heavy fog. There was one hiccup and because everybody was driving too close and too fast all the other accidents followed on from this.

"If people drove to the weather conditions and made sure they had the proper distances between themselves and other vehicles it would not have happened."

Meanwhile, the M62 westbound carriageway was closed near Ferrybridge following 17 separate accidents. The eastbound carriageway was brought to a standstill because of standing traffic and debris.

People were reported trapped after three heavy lorries collided on the A1 at Aberford, south of Tadcaster, and a further 10 accidents were reported on the A1 near Darrington and Wentbridge, all resulting in minor injuries.

One York motorist, Glen Flanagan, whose Ford Mondeo was written off when he crashed into one of the stationary vehicles on the A64, described the scene as "manic".

"No-one could see anything. It was absolutely frightening, the fog was so thick," said Mr Flanagan, 22, of Fulford, who was treated for shock at York District Hospital.

"I was driving towards Tadcaster on what I thought was open road, when "wham!" another car was just there and I had absolutely no chance of stopping."My car will be a write-off and I'm sure it will be the case for a number of others."

A spokesman for North Yorkshire Ambulance said: "At first it looked like it was going to be a lot worse, but there were just a number of minor collisions."

Police had to clear larger wreckage from the motorway near Ferrybridge. One of the accidents involved a fire engine as it approached the scene of the original accident.

Two fire officers were trapped in the cab and had to be released. They are believed to have sustained minor injuries.

The roundabout at Ferrybridge was gridlocked with tailbacks on to the A1.

Police had to clear larger wreckage from the M62 between Pontefract and Ferrybridge where 17 accidents occurred between junctions 33 and 34.

One of the accidents involved a fire engine, which is believed to have collided with a lorry as it approached the scene of the original accident.

Two fire officers were trapped in the cab and had to be released. They are believed to have sustained minor injuries.

The roundabout at Ferrybridge was gridlocked with tailbacks on to the A1.

A forecaster at PA Weather said there would be no fog tomorrow morning, but motorists should be aware there was a high possibility more dense fog could reappear on Friday morning.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.