Picture: Luke Thornton. Unsplash

The infamous Snake Pass road could soon close.

The 26 miles’ long A57 winds its way across the picturesque Peak District.

Each week more than 30,000 motorists use the vital link between Manchester and Sheffield.

The road is not only one of the country’s most scenic routes it is also one of the deadliest.

Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen lost his left arm in an accident on the A57 on New Years Eve 1984.

While trying to overtake in his left-hand-drive Corvette C4 he hit a dry-stone wall before landing in a field.

Allen’s arm was tangled up in his safety belt.

A twelve-mile section of barely dual-carriageway of the road has many hazards – including landslides,  stone walls and wandering sheep.

Most winters it is cut-off after being hit hard by extreme weather.

Derbyshire County Council says it cannot afford to keep repairing the road.

It has asked the government for help.

Charlotte Cupit, Derbyshire County Council’s cabinet member for transport, said:

“We haven’t the resources to be able to carry out repairs, because that’s many millions of pounds, and that would take it off the wider highways budget that we currently get.

“I think that the Snake Pass, because of the geology of the area, has always been a bit of a challenge in terms of landslips and movement.

“We have a particular challenge in Derbyshire with landslips.

“We have more than 200 landslips that we’re trying to manage.”

If the road was closed to vehicles, cyclists and walkers could use it.