RESIDENTS living at the scene of a terrible crash between Lockwood and Netherton have described the horror of seeing it happen on their doorstep.

And the accident, which left teenager Ben Armitage fighting for his life, has sparked an appeal for better safety measures at Meltham Road.

Ben, 18, received serious head injuries when he lost control of his Citroen Saxo at around 4am on Sunday coming around a corner near the Big Valley Garage, near Armitage Bridge, at 4am on Sunday.

The teenager, from Netherton, is said to recovering slowly at Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where night his condition was described as “stable”.

The devastation of the smash is still evident as bright road markings trace the car’s collision course.

The teenager was driving home from town when his car hit two parked cars outside the small row of houses and flipped over on to its roof.

People living there told the Examiner how the horrific sound woke them from their sleep.

One told how he was one of the first on the scene when he heard the car hit his Rover 25 outside his home.

The man, who asked not to be named, said: “I was woken by a massive bang.

“I knew before I looked outside what had happened because I’ve had three cars written off in similar circumstances before and that kind of sound remains in your memory.

“It was a terrible scene, an absolute mess. The car was on its roof and my car had been shunted 30ft down the road and badly damaged.

“My neighbours went out to help a couple who were already there after stopping their taxi and I went and took out blankets to keep the lad warm.

“I didn’t help pull him out of the car, I thought that might be a mistake, but they thought they could smell petrol.

“He was in a very bad state. It was an awful thing to see a young lad lying in the road like that.”

The road has been the site of several bad crashes in recent years, including the smash which claimed the life of 17-year-old Christian Lang last July.

The man said: “If you recall the incidents in this 200 yards of road over the last 10 years it’s horrific.

“In addition to the fatality, a couple of years ago a friend of mine helped revive a young lad in a car accident that completely dismantled the bus shelter.

“The other bus shelter has been demolished and the garage has had similar accidents – one even took out the petrol pumps.

“Something needs to be done before more people are killed or seriously injured. Next time it may be innocent residents.”

Another resident who has lived on Meltham Road for 23 years agrees that there needs to be better safety measures on the road.

She believes one solution could be installing speed cameras at both sides of the bend and on the Lockwood viaduct to slow down drivers.

She said: “The problem is that drivers come round here too fast and misjudge the corner as they’re coming round, which throws them over this side of the road.

“This is a very busy stretch of road, but it’s the only one out of Huddersfield which has no traffic calming measures.

“It’s so distressing to see accidents like this happening on your doorstep.

“I really feel for everyone involved. A family lost their promising young son nine months ago and now there’s another terribly ill in hospital.

“How many more lives need to be lost until something is done?”

Anyone with information about the accident is asked to call Pc Whitteron at Huddersfield Road Traffic Police on 01484 436847.