RAIN freezing soon after it hit roads sparked an early morning of disaster on Huddersfield’s roads.

Drivers across the areas were involved in a spate of minor accidents – including a seven vehicle pile-up on the M62 at Chain Bar.

In total there were 50 across West Yorkshire between 4am and 6am yesterday morning.

Highways chiefs admitted there had been serious problems and they arranged several full gritting operations throughout yesterday and last night to prevent further problems this morning.

Temperatures on the high ground above Huddersfield reached minus 7°C last night.

One young Longwood woman had a miraculous escape after she managed to pull her car to a stop on ice using her handbrake – just like in the movies.

Nikki Heffron, 21, had just set off from her home in Longwood at 7.50am yesterday to work as a bank cashier in Sheffield and then dropped down steep Cross Firs Street off Longwood Road.

Halfway down she realised she’d hit sheet black ice.

“I touched my brakes, but all I could sense was a crunch,” she said. “Nothing was happening so I pulled my handbrake on and the car came to a halt side on.”

Police were called to the scene to close the road to other traffic with Nikki’s Fiat Panda stuck across the road.

Pc Martin Gregory said: “It was amazing she managed to stop and even more amazing she didn’t hit any of the parked cars or wall.

“If she hadn’t managed to stop, she would have gone straight into Lowergate – and children walk along there on their way to Royds Hall School.

Mark Dobson, unit manager for Kirklees highways, said at least five of the 50 accidents had been in Kirklees.

He said the gritting teams had carried out a full grit on priority routes at 6pm on Tuesday. Night patrols said snow showers between midnight and 1am caused the salt to be washed off the roads and black ice formed.

Mr Dobson said the gritting crews were out again throughout yesterday and last night, putting salt on freezing surfaces.

Morning rainfall falling on to freezing surfaces had led to black ice.

One of the authority’s gritting wagons had also crashed on black ice.

Mr Dobson said Kirklees was having daily supplies from Cleveland of salt and had enough to cope with the current conditions.

Better weather was forecast which would mean supplies could be re-stocked.

The icy conditions also caused problems on the M62 across the Pennines.

Officers on the night shift were called to a spate of minor accidents.

The seven vehicle crash on the motorway involved a van and six cars on a slip road at junction 26 at Chain Bar, near Cleckheaton, at 5.20pm on Tuesday.

Fire crews from Cleckheaton, two from Odsal and one from Bradford attended the scene.

One man was injured and was taken to hospital.