DRIVERS tried to ignore a police roadblock after a woman was badly hurt in an accident.

The woman’s green Fiat Punto smashed into a telegraph pole on Penistone Road in Waterloo after she is thought to have been taken ill at the wheel.

The car then rebounded into the road and was in collision with a black Ford Fiesta at 11.30am on Saturday.

The woman, in her early 20s, is believed to have suffered a broken breast bone. She was treated by paramedics at the roadside as police closed the road.

The wooden pole had also been virtually snapped in two by the impact and was only really being supported by the metal sleeve for the phone wires.

Three Kirkburton people in the Fiesta were classed as “walking wounded”.

Pc Phil Shaw, of Huddersfield traffic police, said: “We had to close the road for two reasons.

“The pole was in danger of snapping at any time and if it had come down on someone it would have killed them.

“Also, the road was also covered in oil and debris from the collision.’’

Firefighters secured the pole using a steel cable and when British Telecom engineers arrived and released the cable the pole came down. It has now been removed.

The road was closed for about four hours.

Pc Shaw added: “Several drivers approached us saying they had to get past, even though the road was clearly closed.

“Some even wanted to get past while the casualty was laid out at the roadside being treated by paramedics.

“We always close roads for very good reasons and would wish that people were more patient.’’