Crash causes Fosseway chaos (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Crash causes Fosseway chaos

TRAFFIC chaos hit the north Cotswolds last Friday morning following a four-car collision on the A429 Fosseway between Stow and Bourton.

The accident, which happened at 6.45am, led to the major road through the Cotswolds being closed for more than four hours.

The road was closed at the traffic lights at the bottom of Stow Hill, at Slaughter Pike and Station Road, Bourton.

Traffic was diverted along country lanes causing major hold-ups for motorists.

"There were some problems with traffic," said police spokesman Matt Ford.

"At 9am they were queuing a mile back from Swell village."

Police, fire and ambulance crews were all called to the scene of the crash, which involved a green Rover 218 driven by a 43-year-old man from Stow, a white LDV van driven by a 25 -year-old man from the Bourton area, a red Toyota Yaris driven by a 32-year-old Gloucester woman and a red Mini Cooper driven by a 30-year-old man from Marlborough, Wiltshire.

Police said that the Rover driver was heading north along the A429 and was indicating to turn right when it was in collision with the van, and the other two cars which were travelling south.

The Rover driver had to be released from his car and was taken to Cheltenham General Hospital with injuries which were initially thought to be serious but later turned out to be relatively minor. There were no other injuries.

An added problem was that the van was carrying chemicals, including chlorine for swimming pools, which were leaking and had to be dealt with by firefighters.

The A429 was eventually re-opened at 11.30am.