Calls for action over canal crash

A bystander grabbed the child and pulled her out of the submerged car

There have been calls for improvements to a south Derbyshire road after a 13-month-old baby had to be rescued from a car which crashed into a canal.

Her mother's car collided with another vehicle before crashing into the water in Deep Dale Lane near Barrow-in-Trent.

Campaigners said the speed limit should be dropped from 60 to 30 mph (96km/h to 48km/h) and barriers should be put up.

The county council said it would wait for results of a police inquiry before deciding if action was needed.

How many people have got to die before the council are going to do something? Nicola Dharam

Phil Wood, who lives near the scene of Wednesday's crash, said: "The camber in the road throws you towards the crown of the road... if there's a car coming the other way, there's a very good chance you might clip that vehicle and you end up going for a swim.

"It really needs a 30 mph speed limit [currently 60]. The situation is only going to get worse."

Nicola Dharam, 19, of Littleover, had to escape from her car which ended up in the canal after she came off the road in February.

She backed the calls for new safety measures.

"We should definitely have barriers up along every canal.

"How many people have got to die before the council are going to do something?" she said.

'Very concerned'

Peter Leigh, from the council said the authority took road safety very seriously.

"There are now specific signs in advance of the canal telling drivers that there's a watercourse alongside the road.

"We are very concerned at the fact that a young baby very nearly lost her life but we don't know how this incident arose and we are seeking confirmation from the police before we determine what extra measures we should consider putting in at that site."

The baby was pulled from the car by bystander Pat Baker, 54, and taken to Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre by air ambulance, where she is in a stable condition.

Her mother was uninjured.