Miracle escape after crash near Gatehouse of Fleet

Two drivers escaped with their lives after a crash which blocked the A75 Gretna - Stanraer Euro-route for more than four hours on Wednesday.

The remains fo the van after Wednesdays incident near Gatehouse of Fleet. Photo: Solway Press Services

A van pulling a trailer and a pickup were wrecked in the crash and the van was partly destroyed after it was engulfed in flames.

It caused chaos on the busy A75 and blocked the Gatehouse of Fleet bypass midway between Castle Douglas and Newton Stewart.

Both vehicles ended up locked together on the grass verge of the main route between the Ferry ports in Wigtownshire and the British motorway network.

Firefighters from Gatehouse of Fleet and Kirkcudbright put out the flames. The drivers were not seriously injured and police spokesman said they had been lucky, sustaining only minor injuries and shock.

One driver caught up in the accident said: “It was chaos for a wee while while everyone got out of the vehicles. The van was blazing but he firefighters quickly got it out.

“The drivers were lucky that they weren’t trapped in the vehicles and managed to get out.”

One of the emergency workers added: “They were really very lucky to get out and not be badly hurt.”

Police and council workers set up diversions through Gatehouse of Fleet while work went on to remove the vehicles and clean up a diesel spillage.

The incident is certain to renew and bolster local calls for a major upgrade of the A75 with businesses stating it is unfit to carry traffic on a major route to a ferry port.