A MAN has escaped serious injury after his car lost control on an icy Lake District pass, rolling nearly 40 metres - 130 feet - down a bank into a beck.

Emergency services - police, firefighters, paramedics - as well as the Great North Air Ambulance Service and members of Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team were involved in the operation to rescue the man today.

It was one of a large number of incidents and crashes that have caused problems across Cumbria today amid continued icy and cold conditions.

A statement by the west Cumbrian mountain rescue team, on social media, said: "We’ve just attended an incident where a car lost control left the road on Whinlatter Pass and rolled nearly 40m down the bank into the beck. Fortunately the driver escaped any serious injury and managed to walk away from the scene.

"Please take note of the Cumbria Police advice to take care, and maybe stay off the roads if you don’t need to travel, until things have warmed up a bit."

It added: "We are now busy gritting the parking area at our base, because it’s a struggle to walk across it without falling over......

"Thanks to all the other organisations involved - Great North Air Ambulance,Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, North West Ambulance Service and Cumbria Police."

The crash came after as police revealed this morning that they had already had to deal with more than 20 road crashes and incidents related to the weather conditions.

The A66 main route across Cumbria had also been closed in two places because of ice.

The A66 was closed near its most westerly point in Workington.

The Stainburn bypass was one of two stretches waiting for gritters to treat them.

A stretch further east in Eden, at Temple Sowerby, was also affected but reopened just after 11.30am.

They have both been affected by ice following sporadic drops in temperatures through the day.

A police spokesman said: "None of them have involved people suffering serious injury.

"Whilst some have been vehicles skidding off the road, others have involved collisions.

"Some have involved one vehicle, some involve several, and they're due to sporadic ice patches that have been forming on the roads."
One has involved four vehicles on the A590 near Greenodd.

Problems initially occurred in the west of the county, before heading across south Cumbria and latterly north and east of the county.

Today's treacherous road conditions happened while a Met Office yellow warning for ice was in force until late morning.

Meanwhile a new warning about plummeting temperatures and further icy conditions has been issued today.

It is valid from 6pm tonight until 10.30am tomorrow.

It states: "Icy patches will be a hazard on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths. Some injuries are possible from slips and falls on icy surfaces."

The chief forecaster predicts: "Any showers will die out during Saturday evening, with temperatures falling below freezing across much of the area, allowing a frost and some icy patches to develop.

"Outbreaks of rain will spread eastwards later in the night and during Sunday morning, with some of this rain possibly falling onto surfaces that will still be below freezing, thus increasing the risk of ice for a few hours."

Several high routes in the Lake District - Newlands Pass at Buttermere, Hardknott Pass at Eskdale and Ennerdale Bridge on the Cold Fell Road - continue to be shut by icy conditions.

They have been closed for several days as the cold snap continues.