SIX people needed hospital treatment following another serious accident on the notorious Grane Road.

Police said the accident happened after Ford Escort driver Darren Rothwell, 31, attempted to overtake a Volkswagen Golf driven by Steven John Wolfenden, 38, as they drove towards Blackburn.

The vehicle driven by Mr Rothwell, of Pendridge Fold, Middleton, was in collision with a Nissan pick-up truck travelling towards Haslingden.

The Ford Escort then collided with the Volkswagen Golf and both cars crashed into a stationery Woolworth's articulated lorry parked in a layby next to a mobile cafe near Ogden reservoir.

An ambulance service spokesman said Mr Wolfenden, of Bank Street, Shuttleworth, was forced through his car windscreen by the force of the accident which peeled off the roof of his car, also containing his wife, son and an 11-year-old girl.

Firefighters worked for an hour to free Mr Wolfenden who was unconscious when emergency services arrived and was bleeding from his mouth.

Paramedics believed he had serious internal injuries and he was airlifted to the Royal Preston Hospital where he was found to be superficially wounded and was later sent home.

His wife suffered shock and their 11-year-old son Joseph suffered a cut leg. They were taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary with the other passenger, 11-year-old Antonia Moden, of Cleveleys, who received a head wound.

Pick-up truck driver Tony Bryant, 33, of Calgary Avenue, Lammack, was also taken to Blackburn Royal Infirmary with shock. Mr Rothwell suffered minor chest injuries and his eight-year-old son Jack was unhurt. A passer-by took them to Queen's Park Hospital, where staff called an ambulance to take them to Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

An ambulance spokesman warned people to never move casualties but wait for medical help.

He said: "With the best intentions in the world, moving casualties if you are not fully trained can cause more injuries.

"People should just offer comfort and reassurance and wait for help to arrive."

Two Blackburn College students, Gareth Edwards, 19, and 17-year-old Joseph Slupski, both from Harwood, Bolton, died earlier this month in an accident near the Gray Mare pub, Grane Road.

Stephen John Kelly, 34, of Parkinson Street, Haslingden, died after he lost control of his motorbike on a sharp bend near the Rossendale boundary last year.

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