A DRIVER has described his desperate efforts to stop other cars crashing into debris from a fatal accident on the M65.

Chris Gibson, catering manager at Burnley Football Club, managed to avoid ploughing into any of the aftermath of the smash which killed Mark Burgess, 39, on Saturday night.

Father-of-two Mr Burgess was thrown from his Citroen Saxo when it crashed into the barrier near junction eight for Clitheroe and Bury.

Other cars and an ambulance then hit pieces of debris because they could not see it until it was too late.

Mr Gibson said: “It was a bit of a nightmare. One or two cars had already hit the car. I wasn’t going very fast. I was only doing 40 or 50mph and I managed to stop just before it.

“I reversed down the motorway. I got out and realised you couldn’t see the car at all.

“You couldn’t see at all because the car was across the carriageway. You could not see the front lights or the back lights. It was a blue or black car and I couldn’t see anything at all. There was nothing to reflect off your headlights.

“Another car hit it, and I was in lane one trying to flag the ambulance down, but it smacked straight into it.”

Backing the Lancashire Telegraph’s campaign to get the motorway lights switched back on, he added: “I don’t know how much money it can save, but surely you can’t put a price on human life?

“I think it must be a false economy because now there will be hospital costs and investigation costs.

“The first car might have crashed anyway, but common sense says if the lights had been on, the others cars wouldn’t have gone through and hit it.”

In response to the campaign, and the launch of The Telegraph’s online petition, a Highways Agency spokesman said: “This is not about wishing to remove all lights from the motorway network.

“It's about carefully identifying the locations where, under the guidelines that were revised in 2007, we would not consider installing lighting. Approximately 121 miles are currently unlit as a result of our programme to reduce carbon emissions.

“Evidence so far indicates that switching off the lights between the hours of midnight and 5am on carefully selected sections of motorway hasn't had an adverse impact on safety.”

An inquest into Michael Burgess’ death was opened and adjourned at Blackburn Coroner’s Court yesterday.

Coroner Michael Singleton said Mr Burgess died from multiple injuries, and said he was awaiting toxicology test results. He adjourned the inquest until February 18.