Speed limit on Lancaster head-on crash road is too fast, resident says

A Lancaster resident who witnessed an horrific crash near her home at the weekend said she has aired her fears about the road “on many occasions”.
The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo by Janet Taylor.The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo by Janet Taylor.
The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo by Janet Taylor.

A caravan and a car were involved in the serious collision in Caton Road near Denny Beck on Saturday, leaving debris strewn across the road.

Emergency services, including fire crews from Lancaster and Morecambe and the North West Air Ambulance, were called to the scene at around 3.40pm following the crash, which police said was caused by a mechanical failure on the caravan’s hitch.

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The caravan was being towed by a Skoda Octavia and was travelling along Caton Road from the M6 towards Caton when the caravan became unhitched from the car.

The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo by Janet Taylor.The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo by Janet Taylor.
The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo by Janet Taylor.

The caravan veered onto the opposite side of the road colliding head-on with a white Ford Ecosport heading towards Lancaster.

The elderly driver of the Ford was cut from the as a precaution due to potential back and neck injuries.

Firefighters released the trapped man using cutting equipment before he was taken to hospital.

Fortunately, all involved escaped with minor injuries.

The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.
The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.

Crews were at the scene for around 90 minutes.

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A Lancashire road police spokesman tweeted: “Thankfully relatively minor injuries. Great work from all emergency services at scene.”

Janet Taylor, who lives near the crash site, said she has raised concerns about the safety of the stretch of road many times.

“I have written to the county council over my concerns about the road being too fast, as I have on many occasions,” she said.

The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.
The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.

“Apparently this was a mechanical failure but the road being a national speed limit area cannot help.

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“We have had numerous accidents and fatalities on this stretch of road we now have to consider the speed to be too dangerous.

“It is a straight stretch of road with blind bend at the lay by and near Denny Beck Lane is a hill and nothing can be seen.

“Since the opening of the Bay Gateway traffic has increased on the A683.

The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.
The scene at Denny Beck on Saturday. Photo from Lancs Road Police.

“I have implored the council to lower the speed limit on a number of occasions; we do not want to see more fatalities here.

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“I hope the person in the crash recovers quickly and has no lasting injuries.”

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “Whenever there is a serious incident we consider the police report into the circumstances to assess whether there is anything we could reasonably do to prevent a similar incident happening again.”