Ice forces closure of major East Lancashire road (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Ice forces closure of major East Lancashire road

10:50am Wednesday 30th December 2009 in Abbey Village

A MAJOR road was shut by police after a number of car crashes caused by the ice.

But commuters shunned the warning yesterday morning, throwing the police signs into a nearby hedge.

Officers who were called to an accident, on the A675 Bolton Road near Abbey Village on Monday evening, took the decision after witnessing several more shunts caused by the slippery surface.

A half-mile stretch of the road was closed, up to junction three of the M65.

A police spokesman said: “The signs were there for a reason.

"But in the morning they had been removed and drivers were using the stretch.

“It was closed because of the icy, treacherous conditions and we would remind drivers to respect the warning.”

There was confusion between Lancashire County Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council as to which authority was responsible for gritting the stretch, with both organisations saying it was on the other’s network.

A Blackburn with Darwen spokesman said the stretch of road down to Belmont had been gritted on Monday evening, but insisted it was not responsible for the section that had been closed.