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Cyclist dies after falling from notorious bridge in North Yorkshire DalesDibbles Bridge (CC licensed by Karl and Ali via Wikimedia Commons)

Cyclist dies after falling from notorious bridge in North Yorkshire Dales

Dibbles Bridge was the scene of one of Britain’s worst-ever road crashes in 1975
by Alex Bowden
Tue, Aug 04, 2015 17:13
12

A 41-year-old cyclist has died after falling from Dibbles Bridge in the North Yorkshire Dales. It is thought that he lost control of his bike on a steep descent and crashed into the wall of the bridge, beyond which there is a 15 metre drop.

George Ballard was riding on the B6265 at Dibbles Bridge between Grassington and Pateley Bridge at about 8.30am on Sunday when the incident took place. Members of Grassington’s Upper Wharfedale Fell Rescue Association and the Yorkshire Air Ambulance attended the scene, but he could not be saved.

The Yorkshire Post reports how another cyclist, 32-year-old James Nelson from Skipton, died at the same spot last August.

An inquest heard that Nelson had been out on an evening training ride when his wheels locked while braking. He hit the bridge parapet and fell and his body was found the following morning by two Environment Agency workers who were conducting a survey of the river Dibb. A post-mortem examination later concluded he had died from multiple injuries to his head and chest with the coroner recording a verdict of accidental death.

The bridge was also the scene of one of Britain’s worst-ever road crashes in 1975. The brakes of a coach carrying a group of pensioners overheated, causing it to run down the hill, crash through a steel safety barrier and hit the bridge. The coach flipped over, landed on its fibreglass roof and its sides buckled, resulting in 33 deaths. A memorial service was held in May to mark the 40th anniversary of the crash.

In 1925, a similar incident, also caused by a coach’s brake failure, saw seven people killed and 14 injured.

Speaking about this weekend’s fatality, North Yorkshire police said:

“Police are appealing for witnesses after a fatal road traffic collision on B6265 Dibbles Bridge, between Grassington and Pateley Bridge.

“The collision occurred when a pedal cycle heading towards Grassington, from the direction of Pateley Bridge, collided with the bridge throwing the rider over the bridge into the stream below. The rider of the pedal cycle, a 41 year old man, received fatal injuries.”

Anyone with information about the tragedy can contact North Yorkshire Police on 101.

George Ballard
Yorkshire Dales
Dibbles Bridge
cyclist fatality
Alex Bowden

Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.

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12 comments

Avatar
Opus the Poet | 9 years ago
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I know you in the UK/EU like to preserve your historic landmarks, but dang, how many people have to die before you change something to make it safer? A chain link fence above and outside the stonework would have resulted in survivable injuries with this wreck, without changing the character of the bridge much.

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johnnymcg259 | 9 years ago
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I've crossed that same bridge, but in the other direction to the one the deceased took. RIP.

I could easily imagine getting your lines wrong on the bike, a wet or bad surface or a car coming the other way (being a bit too far over) making you twitch across and then .....well........its happened to many of us but with lesser consequences. Take care all out there.

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Batchy | 9 years ago
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Yep, its a real bugger is Dibbles Bridge . My dad remembered the 1925 crash and I vividly remember the 1975 disaster. Its a real good white knuckle downhill from the Pately Bridge direction past Grimworth Reservoir. But you definitely need your wits about you on the approach to the bridge. Most locals usually have the knowledge on this route so to me it was a surprise that the Skipton lad sadly came to grief here.
Maybe some sort of safety net could be installed to stop people plunging into the gill if and when they hit parapet wall.

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theloststarfighter | 9 years ago
0 likes

A tragic accident. Lets be careful out there people, our Yorkshire roads, in the Dales, Pennines & Moors are lovely but steep descents wherever they are require respect. Even with good brakes and experience we can all get caught out though. My thoughts are with Mr Ballards family.

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pcaley | 9 years ago
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I was riding up there on Sunday morning at about 11.30 with three others. We came up Wharfedale through Appletreewick cutting the corner off avoiding Grassington and the bridge in question. We saw road closed due to an accident signs and wondered what had happened. When we were up there it was wet, so likely will have been when the accident happened at 8.30. Steep descent, tight bend, wet road - a bad combination. The descent into Pateley Bridge down Greenhow Hill (the way we were going) is not much better.

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Broady. | 9 years ago
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I cycle here quite a bit and it's a very fast road. You can push 50mph no problems. Google Maps doesn't really show you just how steep it is or how sharp the corner is at the bottom, I nearly came off there myself, there was a few potholes (which have recently been repaired thank god), I managed to hit one and my bars dropped in the stem but luckily I unclipped and skidded out of it, definitely enough to scare you though.

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Airzound | 9 years ago
0 likes

A Bridge Too Far.

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Some Fella | 9 years ago
0 likes

Blimey road cc - you got anymore more stories like this one to really cheer us all up?
2

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atgni | 9 years ago
0 likes

Maybe they should consider a higher barrier if it's happened before!

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Accessibility f... | 9 years ago
0 likes

So sad, I expect many of us have almost made similar mistakes. Looking at Streetview, there don't appear to be many warnings:

https://goo.gl/maps/QmE6I

https://goo.gl/maps/fLaus

https://goo.gl/maps/c1uFz

Perhaps the local authority should get down there and make the turn a little more obvious. In winter I suppose it's really quite a dangerous turn.

Avatar
wycombewheeler replied to Accessibility for all | 9 years ago
0 likes
Peowpeowpeowlasers wrote:

So sad, I expect many of us have almost made similar mistakes. Looking at Streetview, there don't appear to be many warnings:

https://goo.gl/maps/QmE6I

https://goo.gl/maps/fLaus

https://goo.gl/maps/c1uFz

Perhaps the local authority should get down there and make the turn a little more obvious. In winter I suppose it's really quite a dangerous turn.

the repaired stone wall is also a little telling. Looks much more recent than 40 years ago

Avatar
danthomascyclist replied to Accessibility for all | 9 years ago
0 likes
Peowpeowpeowlasers wrote:

So sad, I expect many of us have almost made similar mistakes. Looking at Streetview, there don't appear to be many warnings:

https://goo.gl/maps/QmE6I

https://goo.gl/maps/fLaus

https://goo.gl/maps/c1uFz

Perhaps the local authority should get down there and make the turn a little more obvious. In winter I suppose it's really quite a dangerous turn.

This is tragic, but what more warning do you need? There are signs showing steep gradient, a zig-zag road sign showing sharp bends, and a big "SLOW" painted across the road.

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