SAFETY PLEA ON ‘DEATH TRAP’ M-WAY

CRASHES ON UNLIT STRETCH OF M66 TRIGGERS CAMPAIGN FOR RETURN OF LIGHTS

A CAMPAIGN has been launched to reintroduce lighting on a ‘death trap’ stretch of motorway.

The calls come after a string of crashes on the M66. A pedestrian was killed last Friday after being hit by several vehicles.

Last month, an elderly woman escaped with only cuts and bruises after rolling her car on a slip road near Bury. Firefighters said she had not seen the junction until late and had tried to cut across at the last minute before clipping a barrier.

Following the crash, a police Twitter account accused the woman of failing to ‘drive to the conditions on an unlit section of the network.’

The tweet led to dozens of responses from people calling for the lights to be switched back on.

Lights were removed from the motorway in 2011, prompting fears that driver safety would be compromised.

At the time, it was one of only four stretches of motorway in the country to undergo a ‘full switch off’ - with no lighting at any time except for motorway junctions and their approaches.

Another to undergo a switch off was the M65 near Burnley, where campaigners are also calling for street lighting to be reintroduced.

Now, M66 campaigners have renewed those calls. They say reinstating the lights will help ‘save people’s lives.’

A petition set up by Bury mum Emma Rawlinson has already been signed by more than 1,000 people.

Ms Rawlinson, who uses the M66 to drive to and from work, said: “There’s an accident on there every week.

“The road surface is damaged and uneven and it gets waterlogged.

“Turning the lights off makes it a death trap. Something needs to be done because it’s really dangerous and people are losing their lives.”

Another, Sean Scholes, said: “I use this motorway daily with dread. Please turn the lights on and save some lives.”

The M.E.N. has contacted Highways England for comment.