THE driver of the lorry which ploughed into a bridge blamed constant resurfacing of the road for altering the ground clearance after revealing he had already successfully passed underneath, going in the opposite direction, shortly before the crash.

It was on the return journey to the Great Harwood site after picking up a skip that the 18-tonne lorry struck the bridge in Whalley Road, Langho, and toppled over, shedding the empty skip on to the road.

Stuart Wallace said he and passenger Geoffrey Rawcliffe were lucky to escape with their lives in the accident on Tuesday afternoon.

The pair were taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary for treatment.

Lancashire County Council has vowed to take action to improve safety at the bridge, including repainting its side with warning chevrons, pruning trees on the approach to the overpass and putting red lines on the road.

But today those calling for changes said it was not enough.

Brian Haworth, chairman of Langho Parish Council and vice chairman of the Ribble Valley Rail Group,said: "Obviously I welcome any improvements but doubt that painting the bridge will be enough.

"I was hoping for some kind of advance warning system a mile or so away which would let drivers know there was a low bridge coming up. There have been so many accidents there that we have to look further than just paint."

This latest crash was at least the eighth major accident at the black spot. Most have occurred while vehicles were travelling from Blackburn to Langho. And driver Mr Wallace, of Arnside Close, Clayton-le-Moors, said the height of the ground clearance was to blame.

The 61-year-old, in his first week with scrap metal processors T Lethbridge Ltd, said: "The sign on the bridge is 13.6ft but it's obviously not that high.

"Over the years the road has been resurfaced and resurfaced and that's where the problem lies. The highway is getting nearer and nearer the edge of the bridge."

But Lancashire County Council refuted that claim. A spokesman said: "We ensure that height restrictions are checked every time resurfacing work is carried out. There may be fractional differences but they are accounted for when a height check takes place."

Prior to driving for the Blackburn company Mr Wallace, who was only covering as holiday relief, had driven mobile cranes for Great Harwood-based Grayston White and Sparrow.

In 25 years he claimed he never had an accident and said his private driving licence -- held for more than 40 years -- was unblemished.

He backed calls for safety improvements on the bridge, adding that it was lucky nobody was killed.

He said: "It was all over in seconds but it was frightening. The passenger and I were very lucky and it was fortunate that there was not another car coming the other way, otherwise the lorry would have landed on it.

"Something needs to be done before someone dies."

Alan Watson, manager at T Lethbridge Ltd, in Greenbanks Work, in Gorse Street, Blackburn, said: "Obviously something needs to be done.

"Perhaps the bridge needs raising or the road should be lowered. Are the signs on the bridge correct?"

The lorry was now off the road awaiting repairs but Mr Watson stressed it would be business as normal.