Pair’s lucky escape as car plunges 40ft

Worried residents fear the return of moorland crashes on one of Saddleworth’s most notorious roads.

Two people had a miraculous escape after their car careered off the A635 Holmfirth to Greenfield road and plunged 40ft down an embankment.

A passing motorist alerted emergency services after spotting a Renault Clio had gone over the side of the road and down the steep slope in atrocious weather conditions shortly before 2pm on Friday.

An ambulance, backed by a 12-strong team from Oldham Mountain Rescue, raced to the scene and a woman driver, who was accompanied by a passenger, was taken to hospital. The pair escaped with minor injuries.

One local resident, who did not want to be named, said: “We continue to be amazed that despite the number of accidents no authority seems to think the road merits any preventative measures.

“The Snake Pass, for example, is covered with warning signs. With bad weather kicking in I just hope we are not in for a spate of accidents at this spot.”

Mick Nield, leader of Oldham Mountain Rescue Team, praised colleagues in the ambulance service for their rapid response to the accident.

He said: “The weather was terrible — winds, heavy rain and mist. Ambulance teams are under tremendous pressure but they did an invaluable job.”

It was the mountain rescue team’s 73rd turn out of the year — topping the 44 total for the whole of last year.

The news comes as the council announced plans to install 12 vehicle-activated signs at five potentially hazardous sites, at a cost of £126,000.

Two new signs will be placed on the A635 and two on the notorious A62 Oldham to Huddersfield road. Two signs will be placed on each of the A663 Milnrow Road, Shaw; A6052 Denshaw Road, Delph; and the B6195 Chadderton Hall Road, Chadderton.

Councillor Brian Lord said: “This scheme is designed to tackle problems at specific sites where conventional signing has not been effective.

“Vehicle activated signs have a very clear objective to make drivers aware of the speed they are travelling and to take action to reduce it.”

There are already two signs on each of the B6194 Abbey Hills Road and the B6194 Shaw Road, Derker, one on the A627 Ashton Road, Hathershaw, and the A669 Middleton Road, Chadderton.

The council has agreed an allocation of £80,000 in funding with a further £30,000 available from the Local Transport Plan to target sites that could see significant casualty reductions.

Saddleworth and Lees District Partnership has also agreed to contribute an additional £16,000 in their area.