Barnsley Road in Sheffield witnesses terrible accidents due to ice-covered road surface

Black ice has caused terrible accidents in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, today as five vehicles including a fire engine skidded and crashed on the A6135 Barnsley Road, police confirmed.

A car had reportedly skidded and crashed into a tree and was followed by a fire engine which crushed the car to the tree. Police also confirmed another accident which saw a paramedic vehicle crash into a lamp-post on the same stretch of road and two other cars skidded after taking evasive action, leaving four people with minor injuries.

The A6135 is closed in both directions between the Deerlands Avenue junction and the B6086 Stubbin Lane junction. The A628 Woodhead Pass is also partially blocked between Glossop turn off in High Peak and Dunford Bridge, because of ice and an accident involving a lorry and three cars. At 4.45am this morning, a lorry reportedly skidded on the ice and crashed into Tankersley fire station.

Roads in Sheffield turned into dangerous ice rinks due to the freezing rain. Motorists struggled to get off estates and many routes into the city were blocked by minor shunts. ‘Freezing rain’ implies to the condition where rain freezes on impact, covering road surfaces with ice.

Wayne Southall from Amey, the contractors responsible for gritting in Sheffield, said, “The conditions were really bad overnight. There have been two problems, we’ve had rain across the city which has diluted the grit and we’ve had this freezing rain which just freezes on impact.”

The Yorkshire Ambulance Service said it had received numerous calls to weather-related incidents across the region. Ice and hazardous driving conditions have affected major routes in West and North Yorkshire including the M1, A1 and the M62.