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Icy road blamed for near miss on rail crossing
CALLS have come for a major review of council gritting policies after a near miss on the railway.
A family had a lucky escape on Saturday when their car, carrying four young children, slid across the Ulgham Grange railway crossing just minutes ahead of an oncoming train.
Euan Spencer, who was driving the vehicle, places the blame firmly on the icy, untreated road and British Transport Police agreed that the accident was the result of adverse weather.
Residents say they have campaigned for years to get the route included on Northumberland County Council's gritting rounds.
And they believe the recent accident makes it even more of a priority.
Gabrielle Patterson, who lives next to the crossing, said: "I'm absolutely sick. I have been onto the council for years about this.
"This is a C-road so it is not gritted, but it is quite a busy C-road.
"Residents in Widdrington Station, Ulgham and Longhirst use it as a rat-run to the Spine Road and Ashington so it is quite a busy little road.
"I do appreciate that there is not enough grit for everywhere, but you can get a really quiet B-road and a really busy C-road with a railway across it. The council should use a bit of intelligence about which is the priority.
"When it is icy all we hear are cars sliding down the road and trying to stop. This accident was only one of so many near misses.
"Luckily the car got through this time before the train came, but it could have been terrible. This is the East Coast Main Line and trains are going at over 120mph.
"The Government is spending millions of pounds on safety around level crossings, but the council won't even put a bit of grit down.
"I have lived here for about 18 years and I love it. The trains don't bother us at all, but we do worry about the attitude of the council to the crossing.
"There is a phrase 'somebody will need to die first' and it is true."The council won't take notice of local people until something really serious has happened."
Another Ulgham resident Keith Newman is also concerned.
He said: "I have been driving up and down that road in all weathers and I take it for granted that it is never going to be gritted, but it does make sense that it should be because the East Coast Main Line crosses it.
"If a car skids into a train that will be it."
County councillor for the area David Towns agrees that the road should be treated.
"The council has said that because the road at Ulgham Grange is a C-road it is not a priority, but my view is that because it is intersected by the East Coast Main Line it should be given greater priority," he said.
"There is an incline on the road towards the railway line and it would be difficult to stop if it hadn't been gritted."
Coun Towns said the issue also demonstrated that the council cannot afford to cut the winter services budget as planned.
"The council is proposing to cut the gritting budget by 60,000 and two gritters would be taken out of the fleet.
"We have already shown that the service is stretched as it is," he said.
A spokeswoman for Northumberland County Council said there are no plans to introduce gritting along the road and rail crossings can not be treated.
"The council has a long-standing and well tested policy for winter gritting," she said.
"As part of this, the council grits just over a third of its roads on a precautionary basis, based on their strategic importance.
"Ulgham Grange is not on the precautionary network and therefore would not be gritted.
"However, there are routes on the precautionary network adjacent to this road, which we would advise motorists to use in severe weather conditions.
"It should also be noted that we are under instruction from Network Rail not to grit rail crossings and for 12 metres either side of the track as the salt interferes with the electrical workings.
"We would always advise motorists to drive at speeds in accordance with the road conditions and in particular to take extra care when approaching a rail crossing, and especially so in bad weather conditions."
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Weather for Morpeth
Wednesday 30 May 2012
Today
Light showers
Temperature: 10 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North east
