Car drives on wrong side of A1 in Northumberland

The Suzuki Ignis was captured by a dashcam camera – travelling north in the fastlane of the southbound dual carriageway, near to Alnwick.

The incident happened earlier this month, and this morning, police released a still image from the footage in an appeal to find the driver.

A statement on the Northern Area Command: Northumberland Facebook page said: ‘We know this one was a little while ago, but it’s not something you easily forget.

‘On Sunday, September 3, at around 4.40pm, we received a number of reports of a car driving in the wrong direction on the A1. An orange or red Suzuki Ignis was seen travelling north on the southbound carriageway, near Alnwick.

‘We’ve kindly received dashcam footage from a member of the public but unfortunately it didn’t manage to catch the registration number of the car. We’re keen to trace the driver and find out exactly what happened.

‘Do you have any information that could help our inquiry? If you saw anything or managed to catch the registration, please get in touch on 101, quoting reference 782 030917.’

Earlier this year, major safety concerns were raised about the A1 after two fatal crashes in seven weeks – involving vehicles travelling in the wrong direction.

On April 8, 30-year-old Barry Carmon, affectionately known as Baz, from Belford, was killed following an incident at Newton on the Moor.

Northumbria Police believe that a Ford Transit van was travelling south on the northbound carriageway and the Subaru Impreza, driven by Baz, was travelling north on the northbound carriageway when the head-on crash occurred. The van’s two occupants were injured.

Less than two months before this, Amble pensioner Gwendoline Anne Wright died in hospital after a crash on the A1 near Alnwick. The fatal incident happened on Saturday, February 18, when she was driving south in the northbound carriageway and collided with a Volkswagen Golf.

In September 2013, an 84-year-old woman was killed after driving her car the wrong way down the A1 near Morpeth.