BLACK ice left a trail of destruction on the roads in Blackburn and Darwen on Friday morning.

An overnight frost had not thawed in some of the more exposed places, with 10 accidents in the space of two hours.

Between 7am and 9am, the emergency services responded to a string of bumps, shunts and minor accidents.

They included two around 8.45am in Green Lane, Mill Hill, Blackburn, when a car went through a hedge and a second car hit the back of a third car.

One man was taken to Royal Blackburn hospital with head and neck injuries and a female and another man were ‘shaken’, but declined hospital treatment.

Sergeant Mick Young of the Road Policing Unit, listed the other eight incidents.

They were: Parkinson Street and Moorgate Street, Mill Hill; Buncer Lane, Witton; Branch Road, Lower Darwen; Lower Eccles HIll and Pole Lane, Darwen; and Haslingden Road and Shadsworth Road, Blackburn.

Sgt Young said: “Surprisingly there were none reported in Accrington or the Ribble Valley within that space of time. It was isolated to Blackburn with Darwen.

“My message to motorists is to drive according to the conditions: it’s colder in the mornings and drivers should expect ice.”