A LEADING county councillor has urged highways chiefs to upgrade safety measures after at least four motorway bridge plunges on the M65 in under a year.
In just 12 months the emergency services have been repeatedly called out to tragedies involving bridges over the East Lancashire highway,
And now County Cllr Azhar Ali, leader of the Labour group on Lancashire County Council and a Brierfield and Nelson division representative, is calling on the authority to take action.
Last month a man was reported to have died after falling from an M65 bridge between junctions 10 and 11 after police received a welfare concern call in the early hours.
In July Lancashire Police was called to similar reports, saying a man in his 30s had been left 'critically injured' after a fall from the motorway bridge at Gannow Top - junction 10.
Back in March there was another incident, which saw police close the M65 around junction 11. Later it emerged that a man in his 50s had been seriously injured after a motorway bridge fall. He later died in hospital, it was confirmed.
This in turn echoed an incident last November, when police enforced the closure of the motorway between junction 11 at Burnley and junction 14 at Colne. It was later confirmed a man had fallen from a motorway bridge along that stretch and suffered fatal injuries.
County Cllr Ali has lodged a motion, to be debated at the next full meeting of the county council, to be held on Thursday in Preston.
Cllr Ali's motion reads: "Over the last 12 months there have been a number of deaths resulting from falls from bridges on the M65 from junction 10 to junction 14, which are owned and managed by Lancashire County Council.
"Lancashire County Council has a commitment to a Lancashire anti suicide strategy and this council therefore resolves to carry out urgent surveys of all the motorway bridges from junction 10 to junction 14 of the M65 (and) take preventative measures including increasing the height of the railings like other motorway bridges to reduce significantly the risk of falls and critical accidents."
The Samaritans charity has installed welfare signs at junction 10 previously in a bid to deter those considering jumping off the bridge,
Other north-west motorway junctions, including the Prestwich junction of the M60 have enclosed motorway bridge crossings.
Cllr Ali's calls mirror a 2021 petition by Gannow Top resident Collette Ostle, who called for higher safety barriers at the M65 junction - noting it had been an issue since then Burnley Council leader Charlie Briggs had made similar demands in 2010.
* If you are facing a crisis the Samaritans is there to help - go online to https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help
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