The trio of vehicles – a Peugeot 206, a Toyota Avensis and a Ford Ka – all slammed into walls and crash barriers at the same hilltop bend in Boothtown Road, approaching Queensbury, on Friday morning.

One driver was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The other two were left in shock.

Calderdale Council has been accused of putting lives at risk and failing to treat the notorious stretch of road in the morning.

Gritting teams had gritted the exposed route on the busy A647 between Halifax and Queensbury the night before after forecasters predicted ice and frost.

Joanne Scaife, who lost control of her Ford Ka and ploughed into a wall after hitting black ice, said: "This has to be one of the most dangerous roads in the district.

"For it not to be gritted is disgusting.

"There could easily have been a mass pile-up, and that could have led to loss of life. It's not even worth thinking about."

Mrs Scaife, 38, of Ashlar Grove, Queensbury, was driving the last of the three cars which crashed at the spot between 6.45am and 7.15am.

She said: "I was taking my daughter to work in Halifax and as I drove down the road I saw these two cars had crashed and I thought what rotten luck for them.

"So on my way back I was going carefully around the bend when I lost control. I spun round and for a moment I thought I was going to plough into the people waiting for the police to come."

She said a fourth car also skidded as she waited but it managed to avoid hitting the wall by inches. The road – linking Halifax and Bradford – was later closed for a short time and traffic diverted via Swalesmoor Road and Ploughcroft.

Police are investigating the causes of the accident but are understood to have requested gritting at the scene.

David Newton, group engineer at Calderdale Council, said the weather forecast received on Thursday highlighted sub-zero temperatures in Calderdale overnight.

"In anticipation of the forecast, the gritting teams were mobilised and Boothtown Road, which is categorised as a primary route, was gritted on Thursday night.

"We were informed of the accidents on this stretch of Boothtown Road on Friday morning and went out to spread salt at the site of the accident."