‘How can you have Rufford without the ford?’
WATER CROSSING CLOSED OVER CONCERNS ABOUT SPEEDING DRIVERS ‘SHOWING OFF’ TO SPECTATORS
A FORD in a Nottinghamshire village has been closed following concerns about irresponsible driving.
Rufford Mill Ford, near Ollerton, has become an internet sensation, with videos on social media showing cars splashing through the water, often at speed and to the delight of crowds of onlookers.
Video footage published on Youtube and Tiktok also shows many vehicles failing to make the crossing when the water level is particularly high, and subsequently having to be towed out.
Other motorists who make it to the other side can often be seen subsequently breaking down due to a flooded, or “hydrolocked”, engine.
According to local residents, more and more drivers have been speeding up before hitting the ford to deliberately splash spectators.
Nottinghamshire County Council says this behaviour is putting both drivers and pedestrians at risk, and it has closed the ford for the foreseeable future.
Confirming its closure, Councillor Neil Clarke, cabinet member for transport and environment, said: “We know that Rufford Ford has become popular with locals and those from further afield, but we cannot stress enough that dangerous driving in this area cannot continue because it puts the safety of motorists and pedestrians at risk.
“Work with our multi-agency partners has been ongoing for some time to discuss safety measures at Rufford Ford and a feasibility study for traffic calming measures has been carried out.”
Residents in the area whad mixed views on the ford closure.
One Rufford resident, Ian Tucker, 41, said: “I’m pleased to see it closed.
“I enjoy watching it on Youtube, but the last few weeks there have been some idiots driving dangerously.
“It’s when people start racing and you get lots of spectators and I feel sorry for some of the people on that side of the village as it must be horrible for them.
“I’m pleased they have stopped it but I hope they open the road one way or another soon.”
His wife, Amy Tucker, 39, said: “I’m really happy it’s closing, as long as it reopens with some speed cameras. It doesn’t affect us personally.”
Ian added: “It’s really dangerous for pedestrians when they are racing through it with the way people are revving up and showing off for the camera.”
A 60-year-old resident who did not wish to be named said: “For me personally we are really upset about it, because as residents we have not been consulted at all.
“How can you have Rufford without a ford?”
She said she is regularly visited by nieces and nephews who want to see the ford when they come over, and it is an important part of local history.
She added: “I feel sorry for people living in the cottages there as they will have a long way to go round onto the A14. Most people use it with respect.”
She added: “There’s a bigger road safety issue on the A roads, I think.”
Retired Susan Whitehead, 71, of Rufford, is also frustrated with the closure. Speaking of the ford, she said: “I just think it is a part of who we are and where we are as a village.
“We have been here about 20 years and it’s a spectator sport and people like to put on a show.”
She added: “We never dare to go through it.”
She said she has “seen too many cars get stuck” to risk crossing it.
When asked her thoughts on the closure, she said: “There are other solutions without something so dramatic.
“They should put some speed bumps in.”
Another 50-year-old resident said: “I suppose the only thing I was worried about was that lots of families and kids were standing on the roads as cars were going really fast.”
The office worker explained that although she has gone over it before she never did so “when it was deep”.
She said: “I have to go that way every day but I go the long way round.
“My husband was saying they should put cameras up, but I would love it to have a little bridge and we could walk over it every day. That would save five to ten minutes.
“It does have an impact on the roundabout when the ford is shut.”
She explained that it “is fun to see the cars” going through it, but recently people had been doing so dangerously.