Drivers are demanding answers over a 'skid pan' country lane shut by Kirklees Council under emergency powers.

The Examiner previously reported how several drivers have come to grief on the slippery bend in Smithy Place Lane, Brockholes, forcing council chiefs to step in.

The road, which links New Mill Road and Woodhead Road, was closed last month for safety reasons.

Kirklees Council has called in contractors and now the road is to remain shut for another month for further investigations.

The council is remaining tight-lipped over what has happened to the road surface – described by some as like a “skid pan” – amid likely claims for compensation from accident victims.

Hairdresser Emilie McLean, 23, of Honley, wrote off her Ford Fiesta when she hit her brakes but failed to stop, smashing into a van.

The accident happened on Sunday, February 7 and Emilie said: “It was horrendous.

“I was just driving down when I came round the bend and there was a van coming towards me. I slammed on the brakes but the wheels locked, it was just like being on black ice. There was nothing I could do.”

Emilie’s car was written off and there was £1,500 damage to the van.

Emilie reported what happened to the council but received short shrift.

“I just want to know what they are doing about it,” she said. “What is taking so long?”

Another driver, Serena McCluskey, is also in negotiations with her insurance company after the firm ruled she was entirely liable when she, too, ploughed into the side of a van.

Dr McCluskey, a Huddersfield University researcher, told how she braked but her car kept going. She had her eight-year-old daughter in the car at the time. She has now lodged an official complaint with the council.

Another local resident, Chris O’Brien, said he believed to road had been a problem since resurfacing work was carried out ahead of last year’s Tour de France.

“I have a four-wheel drive but I have come out of there and gone sideways,” he said. “It’s lethal. There’s been loads of crashes.”

A council spokesman said: “The council is extending the emergency road closure which expires on March 11 for a further four weeks. Further investigations are ongoing.”