Residents have urged the council and United Utilities to fix a leak in the road in order to avoid more accidents, after car skidded on surface ice and crashed into a wall on Christmas Day.

On December 25 at around 11.15am, police were called to Cliffe Lane in Great Harwood following an accident in which a Ford Fiesta skidded after sheet ice had formed as a result of a water leak in the road.

Luckily, the driver was uninjured, but had to leave his car in the car park of the Dog and Otter pub awaiting recovery.

Now, residents living on Cliffe Lane have said the water leak has not been fixed and is getting worse, resulting in a 'skid pan' which they fear will inevitably cause more accidents.

Lancashire Telegraph: The water leak in Great Harwood has turned the road surface into an ice rink, in what residents are saying is dangerous and could result in a serious accidentThe water leak in Great Harwood has turned the road surface into an ice rink, in what residents are saying is dangerous and could result in a serious accident

Chris Coe, who has lived in Great Harwood for more than 50 years said: "It's been the best part of three months now that these problems have been going on for.

"About two years ago water started coming out of the middle of the road and the surface began to break up.

"This was due to a blocked drain somewhere down the road. So it was unblocked and the road resurfaced.

"However, in October last year the road surface broke up again and the water started leaking out again, and got worse when it was raining.

"I phoned and emailed the council a couple of times to tell them it was turning into a skid pan when it froze over and there would be an accident."

Mr Coe said the council resurfaced the road once more but the issue with leaking water was not rectified and subsequently this resulted in the crash which took place on Christmas Day.

He added: "If someone had been walking on the footpath they would've been badly injured.

"And with more people going out for walks now, if it isn't fixed, there will be a serious accident."

Lancashire Telegraph: The water leak in Great Harwood has turned the road surface into an ice rink, in what residents are saying is dangerous and could result in a serious accidentThe water leak in Great Harwood has turned the road surface into an ice rink, in what residents are saying is dangerous and could result in a serious accident

Another resident, James Oldcorn, said he phoned the complaints department at United Utilities but found the conversation unproductive.

He said: "They basically deflected responsibility to Hyndburn Council, saying the water emerging from the road was not chlorine-treated water, so was not their problem.

"Following the incident over Christmas ice warning signs were put up, but it has not solved anything.

"On a personal note my wife, in an attempt to avoid oncoming traffic, ran over the uneven surface in her car and sustained damage to the nearside wheel arch.

"We are totally frustrated by all of this."

Lancashire Telegraph: The water leak in Great Harwood has turned the road surface into an ice rink, in what residents are saying is dangerous and could result in a serious accidentThe water leak in Great Harwood has turned the road surface into an ice rink, in what residents are saying is dangerous and could result in a serious accident

A United Utilities spokesperson said: "We were alerted to this issue by the police on Christmas Day and attended straight away.

"There was water coming from a manhole in the middle of the road.

"The nearest water main was in the footpath and there were no leaks found on it.

"We also tested the water in the roadway to make doubly sure it had not come from our system.

"There was no trace of chlorine indicating it was not a water leak."

A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said since the issue was reported they had been repeatedly treating the affected area with salt to help prevent ice from forming.

The spokesperson said: "United Utilities have carried out an initial investigation, however as they have reported that the water does not appear to originate from a water main we are due to carry out further investigations this week to identify the cause of the problem.

"We would like to alert road users in this area that there will be two-way temporary lights on Cliffe Lane this week to allow this investigation to be carried out safely.

"We will only know how long the traffic management will be needed once we have completed the investigation, and we're grateful for people's patience in the meantime."