Driver hurt as car crashes

The 27-year-old Honda Civic driver was found walking dazed and confused outside his vehicle on the A57 near Todwick at 1.20am today.

An ambulance crew were at the scene first and checked him, shortly before firefighters from Aston arrived from the nearby station. He was then taken to hospital for treatment and checks.

A fire service spokesman said: “He has a lucky escape really, but we have no idea why he would career off the road at that point. It is a straight section with just a mild bend.

“But for some reason he shot off the road to the left, flipped over and the car ended on its roof in a field.”

The driver was taken to Bassetlaw Hospital for treatment.

A multi-million pound road improvement scheme is set to begin next year to improve safety of the notorious section of highway near Todwick crossroads, which has claimed at least 13 lives in the past nine years.

Plans for major improvements, including turning part of the road into a dual carriageway and replacing traffic lights at Todwick with a roundabout, were to have cost around 6 million.

But the scheme was thrown into turmoil after Rotherham Council revealed increases in engineering costs and changes to the plans had pushed the total bill to 12 million.

The council agreed to pay 2 million of the additional cost - but there were doubts over whether the Government would foot the bill for the remainder.

Ministers have now confirmed they will stump up the extra funding, which means the improvement work should finally get under way next year.