A driver whose vehicle hit a bus stop near Mount Vernon Hospital has said that if anyone had been waiting there “they would have been dead”.

Lawrence Messere, 24, was driving his van down White Hill at about 6.45am on Friday of last week when it skidded on black ice, causing the van to spin out of control, crash into a nearby bus stop and roll into a ditch at the side of the road.

The self employed gas engineer has now called for better maintenance of the road, particularly as he witnessed another car, containing young children, crash moments after he had lost control.

He said: “If there had been anyone at the bus stop and they had not seen me coming, they would have been dead. My passenger door completely took out the bus stop.

“As I lost control, another vehicle with two young girls in it also lost control and went into someone.

“I spoke to a resident and they said that on three or four occasions they had asked for the road to be gritted properly as there have been about seven crashes in the past two months.

“A passer-by managed to open the door because I was trying to push up against the door, but the branches were pushing down. If that passer-by had not been there, I may not have been able to get out.”

Mr Messere has now called on the council to ensure the road is properly maintained: including filling in pot-holes, making sure it is is gritted properly and unblocking drains to stop water remaining on the surface and freezing in winter months.

Sarah Spence, Hertfordshire Constabulary representative, said police would not be investigating the crash any further and confirmed police logs referred to ice on the road and that the highways authority had been made aware.”

Hertfordshire County Council and Ringway, the maintenance company for the authority, have not yet responded after being asked to comment.