HARDEN has a problem with speeding drivers, according to the village's parish council.

The reaction came after a man was taken to hospital with serious leg and chest injuries following a crash involving two cars in the village on Tuesday night.

The 33-year-old, of Bradford, was driving a black Volkswagen Golf in Hill End Lane when it was in a collision with a red Skoda Fabia near the junction with Leech Lane at about 9.50pm.

He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary for treatment.

The badly-damaged Golf came to rest against a sign which says ‘Harden Please Drive Carefully’ on it.

Councillor Matthew Gore, vice-chairman of Harden Parish Council, said of speeding in the village: "It is an issue. We are contacting police about it to see if they can do speed checks."

He added: "Speeding needs to be tackled in Harden. It is from all directions. We have got Bradford Council involved with their speed checks.

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"It is an ongoing issue as regards to the parish council."

On Hill End Lane, Mr Gore said: "It is a fast stretch. Near where the smash was there is a sign that lights up saying 30mph. It is 30mph at that junction and a mixture of 40, 30 and national speed limit on that road."

Councillor Michael Ellis (Con, Bingley Rural) said: "It looks like some smash, looking at the picture.

"There are not many houses to be fair, but residents down there have indicated to me that there is an awful lot of speeding there.

"I travel down there fairly regularly and I can confirm there is speeding."

Cllr Ellis said that highways officers from Bradford Council had recently carried out speed assessments in the village, adding: "Some of the speeds were far greater than what they should be. We will be in discussion with officers at our next meeting. It is on the agenda to be discussed. There have been concerns raised by members of the public and parish councillors.

Cllr Simon Cooke (Con, Bingley Rural) said: "It reminds us why we did traffic management in Harden.

"Some people really take no notice whatsoever of the signs and so forth that are put up by the Council in order to reduce the number of people killed or injured on the roads."

He added: "The road has a reasonably good record for accidents, so I can only assume this was someone driving too fast or overtaking too fast.

"You feel for the people involved, but one of the things I keep having a conversation about is whether or not there is a cause for speed cameras."

Police closed Hill End Lane at 11.20pm between its junctions with Ryecroft Road and Keighley Road. It was re-opened at about 2.40am.

Yesterday, a police spokesman said inquiries into the cause of the crash were continuing.