A lucky escape in Heanor

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As temperatures continued to hover around freezing yesterday, an investigation was ongoing into whether the weather was a factor in a dramatic incident at Heanor.

A baby had a lucky escape when the car he was in careered down a slope at about 9.15am in the car park at Heanor Leisure Centre, off Hands Road.

His mother parked her 4x4 vehicle at the top of the slope and left her son in the car as she went to buy a parking ticket.

As she got out of the car it started to move – and as she ran to try to get back inside, she was knocked over by the vehicle and fell to the floor.

The car only stopped after hitting a tree.

One eyewitness said: "The car was going so quickly that it looked like it was being driven. The woman and the child were lucky that they were not badly hurt.

"I know that grit is in short supply but the snow and ice have not been cleared."

But Ashley Mason, area manager for DC Leisure, which manages the car park, said the car park had been gritted.

He said the driver may not have put the hand brake on. "The car park was gritted. We are continuing to investigate the incident," he said.

He said: "It does not help when roads are not gritted. But we have really battled to keep services operating, with the only disruption now in the north of the county."