Courageous residents who rescued people from collision on notorious Derbyshire road to be presented with bravery awards

The heroes are due to receive the awards from the office of Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts at a Bolsover District Council meeting on May 20 for their courage during an incident involving a Volkswagen Polo and a Skoda Octavia on the B6417 Mansfield Road, off Ramper Avenue, in Clowne, between Clowne and Bolsover.

Bolsover District Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr Donna Hales, highlighted the accident and a string of other collisions along this notorious stretch of road, during a long-running campaign to see safety measures and a reduced speed limit from 60mph to 40mph.

Cllr Hales said: “Over a number of years local residents of the Oxcroft estate raised concerns over accidents on Mansfield Rd, also known as The Ramper.”

She added: “Residents reported every incident and these were forwarded to [Derbyshire County Council’s] highways. Sadly, fatalities and life-affecting injuries occurred.”

Residents worked with Cllr Hales, who is also a Bolsover Town Councillor, along with Derbyshire County Council’s highways teams and other agencies.

Cllr Hales explained the speed limit along this stretch of road was 60mph and following a series of accidents including ‘life-changing incidents’ and ‘fatalities’ campaigners continued with a long-running appeal urging Derbyshire County Council’s highways team to address the problems with a reduced speed limit and traffic-calming measures.

She highlighted the shocking collision between the VW Polo and the Skoda Octavia soon after it happened on February 15, 2025, along the Mansfield Road which resulted in four men and a woman being taken to hospital.

The district councillor, who oversees Bolsover North and Shuttlewood, said the area around Mansfield Road had been the scene of multiple accidents and a fatality over at least three years and during the collision on February 15, 2025, she understands four residents pulled individuals from both of the cars despite a fire and they looked after them until emergency services arrived.

Derbyshire Constabulary confirmed the collision had resulted in four men and a woman being taken to hospital with three of them suffering serious injuries.

Another collision on October 2, 2024, between a Volkswagen Golf and a Ford Transit tipper vehicle, also confirmed by Derbyshire police, resulted in two people being taken to hospital but their injuries were not considered to be life-threatening.

Cllr Hales finally confirmed this month that Derbyshire County Council has put in the speed restrictions along the B6417 Mansfield Road with the majority of the road now reduced to 50mph with a further reduced stretch down to 40mph throughout the Oxcroft estate.

Derbyshire County Council initially stated as long ago as February, 2025, that a traffic regulation order had been published to advertise a reduction in the speed limit on the B6417 down to 40mph and for the section of Mansfield Road from Clowne to Oxcroft to be reduced down to 50mph.

But the county council explained that plans to reduce speed limits have to go through a long legal process before the introduction of additional signage to provide warnings about the road and the new maximum speed limits.

District Cllr Hales had told how the scale of the problem on Mansfield Road had meant the community had not even been able to do community speed watches to provide statistics because it was not safe to do so with the 60mph speed limit.

She pushed for traffic-calming measures along the road particularly along stretches near to residential properties.

The county council met with campaigners and after working with Derbyshire Constabulary it initially increased some signage at the entrances to nearby Oxcroft to encourage road safety and sensible driving through the village before bringing in the latest speed restrictions.

Derbyshire Constabulary also worked with the Derby and Derbyshire Road Safety Partnership and previously confirmed there have been mobile enforcement sites along the B6417 which have been used to monitor traffic by the Casualty Reduction and Enforcement Support Team with enforcement taken when necessary and appropriate.

Police Inspector Matthew Brown, who leads policing in the north east of the county, said: “We welcome the new speed limit, and we will continue to work with partners to ensure that our roads are as safe as they can be.

“Speeding is one of the fatal four offences and officers see all too often the devastating impact that it can have.

“If this change of speed limit saves one family having to be told that their loved one will never be coming home then it will have been a success.”

Derbyshire County Cllr Charlotte Hill, Cabinet Member for Potholes, Highways and Transport, confirmed in February, 2026, that efforts had been made to process the plans and a speed restriction along this road had been agreed at least 18 months previously but there had been a delay in placing the signage.

The county council also confirmed the police were supportive of the county council’s proposed changes and the county council also consulted with its statutory consultees as part of the Traffic Regulation Process.

Derbyshire Constabulary also previously confirmed the force had supported the county council’s proposals after the council confirmed it was looking at introducing a reduced speed limit through the Oxcroft area along the B6417 Mansfield Road.

Derbyshire PCC Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts said: “I want to personally thank the residents who stepped forward with such courage and selflessness.

"Their actions speak volumes about the strength of this community, and I am truly grateful. I also want to recognise Cllr Charlotte Hill and Cllr Donna Hales for their tireless work in pushing for speed restrictions on this stretch of road.

"We have all worked together to achieve this and their determination has been invaluable. This move is another step forward in making our roads safer for everyone.”

Derbyshire County Council was approached for comments but at the time of publication they had not yet responded.