after car crash

by Stephen Lewis and Pete Richardson

A MOTORIST said today he was "lucky to be alive" after his car spun out of control at an accident blackspot near Stamford Bridge, where a mother and her 10-year-old daughter died this week.

Bill Wolford, from Bridlington, said highway engineers should carry out urgent improvements to the A166, near Full Sutton, before someone else died - a call which has been backed by local parish councillors who meet on Monday with the issue high on the agenda.

Only hours after Mr Wolford's accident there was yet another smash on the same stretch of road. No one was injured in that two-car crash, although an ambulance and police officers attended the scene.

Mr Wolford, 48, from Bridlington, said he was driving home on Wednesday night when he lost control of his car on a bend.

He said: "I just lost it. I was not particularly going very fast. The car went over the road, through the hedge, and somersaulted end over end into a field.

"I had to crawl out. I was lucky to be alive. It is a bad bend. There were two deaths at the weekend. Something has to be done."

A man on his way to work at Full Sutton prison used Mr Wolford's mobile phone to contact the emergency services, but Mr Wolford fortunately escaped with only bruising. His car was a write-off.

Parish councillor Steve Dixon said: "There used to be an anti-skid surface on the road, but when it was resurfaced it was taken off again.

"We have raised the issue several times because this has been a problem for several years.

"Nobody seems to take notice of the parish council, but we will keep trying."

Richard Nightingale owns the farm next to the accident blackspot and is also a local parish councillor.

He says there have been eight accidents there since October, including three head-on crashes and some where vehicles have overturned.

He said: "Surveyors have been out on the road this week and I hope we will have some good news about it soon. We have seen too much carnage and we want it sorted out."

John Harland, principal engineer with East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: "Initial action has been taken to try to slow traffic down.

"We have temporary slippery road signs out and large slow signs.

"We are doing skid-resistant tests next week and we are taking every possible action to try to find out if anything is wrong with the road and to alleviate any problems."

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