Near sea plunge for Llandudno family after car hits black ice

Jan 1 2009 by Judith Phillips, North Wales Weekly News

Family car hit black ice

A YOUNG family were within feet of plunging into the sea after their car hit black ice on Llandudno’s Marine Drive on Sunday.

A mum was left traumatised and her two children aged three and eight months were frightened when the car slid out of control close to the boundary wall above steep cliffs.

Barbara Adams of West Shore, Llandudno, whose 38-year-old daughter was driving the vehicle, said she was shocked when she heard what happened.

“Why is the local council blatantly charging a fee of £2.50 per vehicle to travel around Marine Drive without prior warning as to the potentially fatal conditions which lie ahead at this time of year?” she said.

“As the car began to slide alongside the boundary wall my small grandson shouted ‘Mummy, don’t go into the sea’. By the grace of God an unknown pedestrian and his wife ran to the scene and it was only his patience and control which prevented a near miss to what could have been a fatal accident.

“He guided our daughter and kept her calm so she could manoeuvre the large vehicle into a less dangerous position. Our family can’t thank this person enough for his presence. He made a point of saying that a previous motorist had taken a full 20 minutes to manoeuvre in the same situation.”

Barbara believes the council should have gritted the road or put up signs at the Happy Valley tollgate warning there might be ice on the road.

“Six cars stopped behind my daughter and were directed safely over the black ice by this wonderful gentleman. If he hadn’t been there, there could have been a terrible accident involving more than one vehicle,” she added.

Joan Vaughan, Conwy’s cabinet member responsible for highways, said she was shocked to hear of the incident.

“I can only apologise to this family. The council won’t make excuses because safety is our priority, and this winter we have put more money into gritting and safety. This shouldn’t have happened and I will find out what went wrong,” she promised.