9:00am Tuesday 6th January 2009
TREACHEROUS driving conditions didn’t just catch out members of the public during yesterday morning’s rush hour.
Two police officers also found themselves in a slippery situation after racing to the aid of a stricken motorist who had lost control of his car on an icy road in Purton.
The officers from Wootton Bassett police station saw their patrol car clip the side of the road and overturn in Church End just yards before reaching their call-out.
But both policemen, one PC and a Police Community Support Officer, walked away from the accident without a scratch.
They had been called out to help a man in his 50s whose car had rolled on to its side outside The Pear Tree Hotel, in Purton, shortly after 8am.
He had been driving his black Renault Laguna when he lost control and skidded off course.
The accident came just hours after 0.5cm of snow fell on the borough, coupled with freezing temperatures.
A police spokesman said: “We were called out at 8.03am after the Laguna had ended up on its side.
“The driver complained about pains in his side and it appears he was worried that if he got out of the car it might move.
“A police car also went over on the same road. The officers were uninjured.
“It looks like the car clipped the side of the road and rolled.
“The road had become treacherous and was closed at 8.15am.”
Another car, a blue Fiat Punto, also crashed along the same stretch in a separate incident.
The male driver from Purton suffered no injuries after hitting a metal fence.
All three cars came to rest along the road outside the hotel in the village.
The road had become a hazardous spot and police were concerned for the safety of other vehicles.
It was closed for more than three hours before re-opening at 11.42am.
Each of the cars was recovered by breakdown trucks.
There were also road closures in surrounding areas from The Fox, The Red House, Purton, and the Lydiard Millicent side junction, Church Place and Stone Lane. Motorists were advised to avoid the area.
Earlier in the morning the Wiltshire Fire And Rescue Service was called out to Priors Hill, in Wroughton, after a car slid off the road and into a garden fence at 7.05am.
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