'A crash waiting to happen' at Wigan junction

Standish councillor George Fairhurst has expressed concerns about potentially fatal traffic accidents at the junction of High Street, Preston Road, Market Street and School Lane in Standish, one of the borough’s most congested at peak times.

Despite there being a traffic light filter system in operation, Coun Fairhurst claims to have witnessed scores of cars driving through red lights, resulting in several near-misses.

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He believe drivers are attempting to “dart through” as the traffic lights change from amber to red.

“I’ve been trying to get this sorted for a few years. I’m trying but getting nowhere,” he said.

“We have had cameras put up but nothing has changed. They are coming through on red, turning out of Preston Road, through School Lane and through Market Street. Whichever way you look.

“They can’t wait just a few seconds, they have to go through.”

Coun Fairhurst added: “I can’t understand why people are doing it. You can see the lights, there’s no excuse.

“They are queuing for about 30 seconds and decide to chance it. But sooner or later, that chance is going to come to a sticky end.”

Having campaigned over the issue for several years, George met with police to discuss his worries that serious consequences could arise if the situation is not addressed soon.

In fact, the police witnessed first-hand what could go wrong, Coun Fairhurst claimed.

“Officers saw a car coming out of Market Street, and a van came out of Preston Road on red and they nearly hit one another,” he said.

“They’re going to have a discussion about what they can do, such as put a camera there, which takes a picture when a car goes through on red.”

Standish has become notorious in recent years as one of the borough’s most congested areas and the crossroads have also been a prominent point of several road traffic collisions.