A YOUNG woman had a lucky escape after crashing into a KFC drive thru sign near an exposed gas mains.

The 19-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving after her car ploughed into the sign at a roundabout on Yarm Road near the entrance to Darlington Retail Park on Wednesday morning. (November 4)

Durham Road Policing Unit tweeted: "Rtc Yarm Road, Darlington. One vehicle into the KFC sign. One arrested for failing the roadside breath test".

Construction work on a new coffee bar is currently underway near the roundabout meaning that a gas mains was exposed.

If the car had hit the mains, the consequences could have been deadly said Darlington Police Response Inspector Caroline Shields.

“She had a lucky escape and if she’d hit the gas main, it could have caused an explosion – it was a very near miss," she said.

The Northern Echo has received comments from readers claiming mud being left on the road during the building work had made driving conditions difficult.

However, Darlington Borough Council said it had not received any complaints about the state of the road and a Highways inspector, sent to the scene on Wednesday, could not find any on the carriageway either.