A PERMANENT memorial to people who died in a 1975 bus crash at a notorious Craven blackspot is planned - if the owner of the land can be traced.

Thirty-one day-trippers and the driver lost their lives when the coach in which they were travelling plunged over Dibble’s Bridge, just over a mile from Hebden, after its brakes failed.

It is still the single worst-ever crash for loss of life in British history.

The bridge has also claimed the lives of two cyclists - James Nelson and Dr George Ballard - since 2014. A total of 43 people have been killed at the spot since 1925. The bus crash victims were on a mystery trip from Thornaby, near Stockton, and were on the way to Grassington when the accident happened.

Now Thornaby Town Council has initiated a project to remember the victims, and has commissioned the making of a documentary film, an exhibition and stone memorials to be put up near the crash site, with a similar one planned for the town.

Thornaby resident, and documentary film-maker and producer, Derek Smith is one of the project leaders. He said: “The Dibbles Bridge disaster is one of the great untold stories of the 1970s - hopefully this project will create lasting memorials for present and future generations.

“There are still people in Thornaby who knew people in the crash, so it is obviously a project very dear to our hearts. We hope to use local stone from nearby Coldstones Quarry to create a memorial in a setting where relatives and friends of victims can visit and reflect.

“Members of Thornaby Town Council visited the area below Dibbles Bridge last month and were moved by the beauty of the location near the footpath to Appletreewick.

“Yet in spite of extensive research at Land Registry and elsewhere the owner of the parcel of land where the council plan to install the monument remains a mystery.

“The documentary film has recorded over 23 interviews so far, including the first four people who were at the scene of the crash, survivors and relatives of victims. Many local people helped at the scene and we are still seeking testimonies from people who remember the accident.”

The bus’s brakes failed as it moved down the one-in-six gradient of Fancarl Hill. The vehicle tore through the three-feet high stone parapet of the bridge above the River Dibb before coming to rest on its roof 17 feet below.

Emergency services teams from across Craven were quickly on the scene but it took three hours to free occupants and take them to Airedale Hospital. Thirteen people were severely injured but survived.

At the time, the Herald reported that one of the first ambulance men on the scene was 29-year-old David Rhodes, of Grassington, who told the reporter: “It was a shocking sight. There were no noises from the wreck. It was just a jumble of bodies.”

Anyone with memories of the crash or information about the owners of the land is asked to contact the project at thornabylives@btinternet.com or ring Derek Smith on 07774 930516.