A WATER company has been told to take action after a woman died in a crash when a car skidded off the road. 

Natalie Mountford had stopped along the B3019 from Shaftesbury to Sturminster Newton, close to Cole's Lane, on December 18, 2022, to help the stranded driver of a Vauxhall Corsa that skidded and crashed because of ice. 

The Corsa driver was invited by Ms Mountford to sit in her Vauxhall Astra for warmth while waiting for emergency services to arrive. 

However, while Ms Mountford, from Sturminster Newton, was waiting outside, an approaching Citroen Berlingo attempted to stop at the scene but also skidded on the ice and struck the 45-year-old. 

Witnesses at an inquest into the death described water flowing down the hill, with ice having formed as a consequence of the sub-zero temperatures that prevailed that night. 

A report by Dorset coroner Brendan Allen described the stretch of road as being an “accident black spot”, after a string of crashes beforehand including one fatality in December 2017 caused by ice. 

He concluded that water utilities company Wessex Water “do not appear to have a system in place to log and progress reports of potential leaks made directly to Wessex Water staff”. 

The inquest heard how a Dorset Council staff member sent an email to Wessex Water after the crash alerting the firm to the presence of a possible leak from the water pipe running under the road. 

It said how the water was flowing down the road while warning of the risk that the water may freeze with the winter temperatures. 

However, the report said that Wessex Water could not find the email sent by Dorset Council or any responses.  

“In addition, though action was subsequently taken on January 17, 2023, to repair a leak at this site, it was part of Wessex Water’s routine leak inspection process, and not in response to the information received from Dorset Council.” 

Mr Allen said: “There would appear to be no process in place at Wessex Water to log and action reports made directly to staff of water leaks onto a highway, or if a process is in existence it would appear not to be robust.  

“The risk is that such reports may be ‘lost’, with the necessary work not undertaken, leaving water flowing from a leak on the highway, with the subsequent risk outlined above.” 

He concluded Wessex Water must take urgent action to prevent future deaths. 

A spokesman for Wessex Water said: “This was a dreadful and devastating accident and our thoughts are with Mrs Mountford’s family and friends. 

“We are currently considering the findings, including the concern noted by the coroner about how we manage reports of water on road surfaces that we receive from local authorities.  

“We will be providing a full response to the coroner in due course setting our conclusions.”