Traders hit in the pocket by smash

BUSINESSES say a multiple vehicle crash on the A500 which closed half of the road for more than 12 hours affected their trade.

The A500 in Stoke-on-Trent was closed in both directions near its junction with the A50 after a collision involving two HGVs and a police dog van.

One of the lorries hit the central reservation near Stoke City's old ground at 2.50am yesterday and jack-knifed, sending its contents into the opposite carriageway where the other two vehicles were hit.

The female driver of the HGV which jack-knifed was taken to the University Hospital of North Staffordshire with lower back pain.

The southbound carriageway re-opened at around 6am but the northbound carriageway remained sealed off for most of the day.

Neither the police officer and his dog, nor the driver of the other HGV, were injured.

A spokesman for Longton Fire and Rescue Service, which attended the collision, said: "It was chaotic when we arrived and the lorry ended up teetering over the edge of the embankment. It was carrying porridge oats and heading for Warrington."

In a separate crash at 8am, two vans collided on the D-road near the Sainsbury's distribution centre to add to the traffic chaos.

Motorists heading northbound on the A500 faced severe delays as traffic was diverted off the D-road at the Stoke junction and back on to the road. The road finally got back to normal at about 3pm.

Dave Everill, manager of Bourne Sports in Church Street, Stoke, told The Sentinel: "It's been a quiet week but I'm sure the accident on the A500 had an impact on trade.

"I live in Mount Pleasant and I couldn't get through the D-road. After 40 minutes of getting nowhere on a journey that usually takes eight minutes I turned round and drove home and then walked to work.

"We had people coming in saying it had taken them ages to get here because of the traffic, and we had reps come in who were two hours late.

"Stoke town centre does seem to be affected when there are accidents on the A500 because it is near major junctions."

Joy Sherwin, manager of The Card Factory, in Campbell Place, Stoke, said: "It's been steady but not busy. I think the traffic probably has affected trade a bit.

"I was lucky because I heard about the accident on the radio, so I left for work half an hour earlier than usual. Otherwise I think I would have been caught up in it much more.

"The A500 is a good road, but when there is an accident you can be stuck for hours."

Emma White, a financial controller at Hobson Health on Waters Edge Business Park, Campbell Road, said: "The traffic looked horrendous – it was queuing back on the A500 to the Britannia Stadium."