A SCOOTER rider was today fighting for his life after plunging 20ft off a railway bridge in a freak road accident.

John Steed, 51, collided head on with a Ford Transit van on a left hand bend near a bridge in Pimlico Road, Clitheroe, shortly before 5.30pm last night.

He suffered multiple injuries and is in a critical condition in the intensive care unit at Blackburn Royal Infirmary.

Mr Steed, of Croasdale Drive, Clitheroe, was pushed towards the bridge parapet and became entangled in the front of the van before being thrown on to the railway track below.

The line was closed during the rescue operation.

Pimlico Road was closed for two hours while emergency services dealt with the incident. The driver of the Transit van, Peter Henry Kirk, 44, of Kirkstall Avenue, Rochdale, was uninjured. Mr Steed was on his way to a night shift at Castle Cement's Ribblesdale works when the accident happened.

The popular worker is a production operative at the plant and is a former quarryman.

His shocked colleagues were said by a company spokesman to "keeping in touch with the situation by the hour."

Police road safety officer Sergeant Nigel Walker said: "We are appealing for witnesses to come forward to help with our inquiry."

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to contact police on 01254 382141.

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