Extraordinary CCTV footage shows a series of car crashes at ‘Britain’s most dangerous junction’, which has seen thirteen accidents in two months.
Several cars have ended up flipping, while one hit a massive lorry at the junction along the A521 in Cheadle, Staffordshire.
Thankfully no one has been killed, but locals feel it’s just a matter of time if nothing is done.
They blame misleading give way signs and faded road markings for the staggering amount of crashes, which have caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.
Ring doorbell footage from nearby councillor Gary Bentley’s home captured the dramatic scenes. Gary said he’s counted 13 smashes since August.
One video shows a car failing to spot the give way road markings and speeding over the lines before being smashed into by a lorry.
Another clip shows a SUV being clipped by a VW Golf before being sent rolling across the road onto the pavement.
The most recent accident happened on Thursday (October 17) when a car and a van collided at the junction.
Residents are now pushing for the council to make changes to the junction, to help prevent future accidents, and potentially deaths.
Conor Bernard Devine, landlord of the nearby Huntsman pub, has been keeping a tally for the number of days between each smash, which currently sits at four.
The 55-year-old, said: ‘You hear a big bang, you come running out and there’s a car on its roof again.
‘It’s a question of time before someone gets killed out there.
‘We’re on a four day streak at the moment. We’ve been here 15 years, it’s always been bad for the accidents.
‘For whatever reason it’s getting worse. I don’t know if it’s the road markings or not.
‘Three have been very serious then there’s been a couple of little fender benders.
‘There’s also an Aldi supermarket being built which is going to bring more traffic to the town.”
Gary, an Independent councillor for High Peak Borough Council, has called for traffic lights to be installed.
He said: ‘It’s a busy junction. We think it could be Britain’s most dangerous – it has been in the last few weeks.
‘We were all concerned about the highway issues and people out of town coming down, most of the crashes are from people outside the area.
‘A couple of weeks ago a car came over and didn’t know he had to stop. There were two. One was hit by a car and another by a lorry. We put it down to the faint lines.
‘The council painted one line. But the crash last week was the other side, where they didn’t paint. They only painted one side of the road. Who does that?
‘One side is beautifully painted, the other side you can’t see. I wanted the signs changing from give way to stop, that’s the minimum I want.
‘We ideally want a set of traffic lights. We had another set of crossroads that caused a death, but 18 months ago they’ve got traffic lights. That’s what I’m pushing for.
‘We’ve had £170,000 cars smashed in just six weeks. It happens all the time. We don’t just have these big ones, we have little crashes too.’
Gary says he worries about his 84-year-old dad Alan who lives nearby and often walks along the road.
He added: ‘It’s been going on for years, but it seems to have gotten worse this year. I can only put it down to the maintenance of the road, the potholes.
‘There were no white lines at the end. There’s a giveaway sign high up.
‘This is my corner, I love my corner. We all get on, we all help each other. The only thing letting it down is the crossroads.”
Dad Alan, who has lived in the area for 60 years, said: ‘It isn’t safe. I’d like a big roundabout, a massive roundabout to slow them down, or traffic lights.’
Mark Deaville, cabinet member for strategic highways at Staffordshire County Council, said crashes were being investigated.
He said: ‘Once we have all the information, we will look to see if any action is required at the location.
‘Keeping our roads safe remains our priority and we do listen to residents and work with local communities if they have concerns about road safety in their area.;
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
