AN ACCIDENT spot where a driver plunged 20ft into a Blackburn river is unlikely to be earmarked for safety improvements.

A 23-year-old man suffered a broken leg after his Vauxhall Corsa careered through a fence in Philips Road, Little Harwood and into the river, last Thursday.

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He was airlifted to hospital after being cut free from his vehicle in a shallow culvert of the River Blakewater – nine hours after crashing.

Last February, a car with a faulty handbrake smashed through a back yard fence in Progress Avenue – fewer than 100 yards from last week’s incident – and also ended up in the water.

But Councillor Jim Smith, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s executive member for environment, said the was ‘little chance’ of any outcome other than the fencing being replaced.

He said: “It could be considered but the reality is that it is very unusual for any incidents like these to happen.

“Yes, there are walls around some parts of the Blakewater and the River Darwen, but these are more to do with flood prevention than road safety.

“We will have a look at what’s happened here and of course we’ll do something but it’s unlikely that the outcome will be anything other than replacing the fences in cases like this.

“Thankfully in the two cases mentioned, nobody has been fatally injured.

“We don’t know the circumstances around what happened last week but it’s difficult to legislate for some accidents.”

Lancashire police said the man’s silver Vauxhall Corsa was believed to have plunged into the River Blakewater at around midnight on Thursday after he lost control.

He spent the night trapped alone in the car before a passer-by heard his cries at around 9am and called the police.

Fire crews from Blackburn, Darwen, Hyndburn, and Great Harwood stations attended the scene and cut the victim free before he was taken to Royal Preston Hospital.

Councillor Pat McFall, who represents Labour in Little Harwood, said: “The safety measures around the River Blakewater are not something that have come up at previous ward solutions meetings but I’m sure it will talked about at the next one.”