Video shows driver going wrong way around Norcross roundabout in Thornton

Hair-raising dash cam footage shows the driver behind the wheel of a Kia Picanto as they approach the roundabout from Norcross Lane.

The driver suddenly switches lanes – cutting across the path of a van – before driving the wrong way around the roundabout.

Other drivers can be heard honking their horns in fright as the oncoming Kia motors towards them, narrowly avoid a crash.

Brian Sillett, who caught the close-call on dash cam, said the Kia continued to drive along Amounderness Way on the wrong side of the road before returning to the correct lane near the layby.

Lancashire’s most notorious roundabout?

Many consider Norcross roundabout the worst in Lancashire due to the frequency of accidents caused by confused drivers.

Located just south of Thornton, it joins the A585 Amounderness Way, Norcross Lane and Fleetwood Road South and around 28,000 vehicles use the roundabout each day.

The roundabout underwent a £12 million revamp in 2020 – making it larger, adding traffic lights and widening the approaches – but was described by motorists as "total hell" after its completion.

That year, official government statistics from the Department for Transport revealed Norcross Roundabout was the second-most-dangerous in Lancashire, after the A589 roundabout in Morecambe.

In response to complaints from those using the roundabout regularly, a spokesman for Highways England said: "The safety of road users is our priority and we routinely assess the performance of completed projects and make adjustments where areas for improvement are identified.

"The changes we have made at Norcross junction are designed to reduce shunt-style incidents in queuing at the roundabout, make it fairer and safer for drivers travelling through the junction from local roads and make using the junction safer for cyclists and pedestrians.

"With any new road layout there’ll typically be a three to six month period before the new arrangements become fully embedded and road users gain a degree of familiarity with the changes.

"At Norcross, it will inevitably take some time for road users to get used to the new arrangements but we will continue to monitor the operation of the junction closely."

Judging by the video, it appears some drivers are still confused three years after the multi-million pound improvements to Norcross roundabout.