A MIDDLEWICH woman is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after a four-vehicle collision in Stanthorne.

Emergency services were called to the A54 Middlewich Road at the junction with Coalpit Lane, at 11.17am, on April 10.

Both lanes of the road were closed for the majority of the day.

The incident involved a blue Citroen Saxo, grey Mitsubishi Shogun, black Peugeot 307 estate and a white Citroen panel van.

The driver of the Citroen Saxo was taken to Leighton Hospital with serious injuries and has been named locally as 35-year-old Joanne Rowlands, employee at The Vault pub and former manager of The Golden Lion.

Close friend Bev Bryning, manager of The Vault, said: “All the staff and customers are behind Joanne all the way.”

A six-year-old girl, who was also travelling in the Citroen Saxo, was taken to Leighton with chest injuries and later released.

The driver of the Peugeot, a 57-year-old man, was taken to the same hospital with serious injuries and has since been released.

Middlewich Clr Mike Parsons said he was angry about the dangers of the road and claimed those responsible were ‘not tackling’ the problem.

“The first thing we need to be looking at doing is to adjust where they put the speed reduction signs,” he said.

“Councillors have made reference to this in the past and the speeds down Chester Road and Spittle Hill are totally unacceptable.

“A lot of motorists, especially if they are not conversant with the area, don’t understand how dangerous Spittle Hill is.”

He added: “I am frankly just getting really lost for words for what to do to bring important things like this to responsible authorities to raise awareness.

“Everything is a continuous battle.”

The location of the collision fell under the Cheshire West and Chester Council (CWAC) authority.

A CWAC spokesperson said: “Once we receive the report from the police we will take a look into the cause of the collision and any appropriate measures that need to be considered.”

Police are now appealing for witnesses and anyone who witnessed the collision or the run up to it should contact PC Gareth James on 101 quoting incident 288 of April 10, 2012.

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