Water on roads causes closures and delays

5:18pm Monday 21st January 2008

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Motorists across East Lancashire have faced serious delays from early on today due to the weather.

Huge tailbacks buily up on the A56 and M65 following an accident on the M66 northbound shortly before 7am, which caused police to close a lane off for more than an hour.

Firefighters were kept busy across the county spending hours pumping water from road surfaces, including at Blackburn Road in Rising Bridge and Bannister Hall Drive in Higher Walton in Bamber Bridge, one of the areas issued with a flood warning.

At another incident, a woman had to abandon her car after it got stuck in Smithy Lane, Foulridge, and was almost fully submerged by water.

Flooding hotspots, particularly in the Ribble Valley were some of the worst affected.

In Ribchester, Ribblesdale Road was closed off and Lancashire County Council arrived with sandbags for concerned residents.

A large brook that feeds in to the River Ribble runs past the top of this road and regularly pushes the water level up causing flooding.

Coun Sayers, who lives in Chesterbook, off Stoneygate Lane, said: "In Ribblesdale Road the water is over a foot high and that is the worst hit.

"People have boards across their garages to help keep the water out.

"There is a lot of water coming down the hill from Longridge into the village as well."

Sergeant Pete Sculpher from Accrington Road Policing Unit said: "Our busiest time was between 7am and 9am.

"All the usual places were badly affected, but there was also a lot of water where you would not expect, such as on Bolton Road at Ewood.

"In terms of accidents however, we have done very well, I think motorists have heeded the warnings and been very aware of how much water was on the roads, and it also coincided with rush hour when the traffic is slow moving anyway.

"But most people have driven safely this morning and we thank them for that, and we'd like to see them driving with equal care in the coming days.

"More rain is forecast and we would advise people to be aware that there will be a lot of surface water remaining, even when it is not raining."

Numerous East Lancashire roads were impassable, including Edisford Road in Clitheroe which was blocked by flooding between Seedall Avenue and Lancaster Drive; in Todmorden, the A646 Burnley Road was closed in both directions, as was the A6033 Rochdale Road; in Chipping, Malt Kiln Brow was blocked both ways due to flooding at Church Raike Inspector Phil Cottam, Lancashire Constabulary's head of motorway policing, said: "The driving conditions at the minute can only be described as horrendous.

"I would urge motorists to slow down and use their common sense.

"Standing water on the motorways is making it difficult for people to drive and I would ask them to make sure they follow the matrix signs.

"There is also a lot of flooding on the local roads and it can be difficult to judge just how deep the water is, so if you can avoid driving through a huge puddle then please do.

"The best advice today would be if you don't need to travel then stay at home."