TWO workmen cheated death when a 44-tonne articulated lorry overturned on a notorious stretch of East Lancashire road - just over a week after it re-opened to traffic.

The workmen, working on a bridge culvert next to the tight left-hand bend at Devil's Elbow, on the A671 between Whalley and Read, were hit with debris and knocked over the side of the bridge when the lorry overturned.

But highways bosses today said the accident wasn't caused by the roadworks.

Earlier today the road remained closed as workmen cleared the road of oil and remaining debris.

Ribble Valley councillor Christine Bartrop, whose Read ward covers Devil's Elbow, said: "The road can be dangerous to people who don't know it. Locals know how slow they have to go. It's difficult to see what can be done to make the bend safer, other than to have a bypass."

Yesterday's accident was the third incident on that stretch of road since it re-opened after roadworks on Sunday, September 12.

Last Tuesday a motorist was treated for minor injuries after a Ford Focus and a Fiat Punto collided while queuing at temporary traffic lights before the bend, while on Friday the driver of a Rover 25 suffered leg injuries after being hit from behind, about a mile away in Read.

In the latest smash, workmates described how the two men were showered with bags of household rubbish, which the lorry was carrying, as they were knocked down the embankment and into a stream 20ft below.

Both men, employed by Lancashire County Council, were taken to Burnley General Hospital suffering from minor cuts and bruises and shock.

The lorry driver was unharmed and declined any treatment from emergency services. The road was closed in both directions for several hours after the accident at 12.30pm yesterday.

Devil's Elbow was closed for eight weeks while the county council carried out repair work to the bridge and installed a new road surface.

After re-opening, council bosses imposed a 20mph speed limit and installed temporary traffic lights while work continues to complete the improvements which include a new state-of-the-art road surface that gives vehicles improved grip. Yesterday the traffic lights had been temporarily removed following a fault.

PC Geoff Pennal, based at Whalley police station, was first on the scene. He said: "The workmen were only a few yards from where this lorry toppled over. Another 20 seconds and it could have much more serious."

Steve Prescott, a county council labourer, was on site an saw his colleagues knocked into the stream. He said: "The lorry must have been speeding - it was going faster than 20mph.

"When I saw them falling into the river I thought they'd had it. If it had been carrying bricks or steel they'd be dead."

Peter Finch, Lancashire County Council's assistant area surveyor, was at the scene yesterday. He said: "This accident is through no fault of the new surface or any of the work being carried out.

"We've had a 20mph limit and temporary traffic lights here since the road re-opened. Unfortunately the lights had to be removed because they were faulty. That also appeared to play no part in what happened."