Dashcam video nasty shows impatient Blackpool motorist following ambulance up wrong side of road

Onlookers watched on as the Honda Accord forced its way past cars as it drove on the wrong side of Westcliffe Drive in Layton, clipping a wing mirror on its way.

The motorist appeared to cross the central pavement in order to overtake the bin lorry which was blocking the road.

An ambulance, with blue lights flashing, had taken the same route only moments before the incident happened, clearing the way for the car to follow.

Blackpool resident Ken Hardman, 79, captured the shocking footage on his dash camera at around 12.40pm on October 10.

He said: “I had just dropped a relative off in Cleveleys and I was on my way to Layton. In the opposite lane there was a waste bin collection vehicle parked, blocking the road.

“There was an ambulance wanting to get through with its lights blazing, so I pulled in and the cars behind me pulled in.

“When the ambulance had cleared we pulled out and started to move forwards, and suddenly there was an impatient driver, who obviously couldn’t wait for the waste collection vehicle to move out of the way, who suddenly emerged over the pedestrian area of the road, just as a pedestrian walked past.

“It emerged very quickly over the central reservation down a very narrow lane. The car in front of me stopped and I stopped. He must have missed his wing mirror by a centimetre or two, he was so close.

“He hit my wing mirror and disappeared behind me.

“I was shocked at first but I thought, ‘What a stupid thing to do’. What if there were kids in the area or an OAP who didn’t have their wits about them?”

Footage of the incident can be viewed on The Gazette’s website, which shows the Honda narrowly miss a Vauxhall Astra.

Ken said: “I thought my wing mirror would have been scratched, if not broken, but fortunately it wasn’t.

“I don’t know what became of the cars behind me. The fellow in the white car in front of me must have been as surprised as I was.

“I was amazed at the cheek of this person and the fact that he was risking doing this. Why couldn’t he wait two minutes while the car moved off? I was rather startled.”

The Honda, which had ladders on the roof, passed an MOT in July but with advisories warning the front brake pads were wearing thin and one of the front tyres was close to the legal limit.

The incident was reported to the police who warned the driver over “careless and inconsiderate driving”.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “The driver was issued with a Section 59 warning for the manner of their driving.The HGV that was unloading and caused the obstruction for both the ambulance and the other driver has not been traced.”