Wigan
24/7 Collision Recovery · Wigan

Accident Recovery in Wigan — 24/7 Recovery After a Collision

Been in an accident in Wigan and your vehicle can’t be driven away? We’re a 24/7 accident recovery service covering Wigan town centre, the M6 at Junctions 25 and 26, the M58 at Junction 6, and the A49, A577 and A579 corridors. We recover damaged and non-driveable vehicles from the scene, clear what’s left on the road, and take your vehicle to your home, a bodyshop, or our secure storage while the claim is sorted out. Cars, vans, motorbikes and commercial vehicles up to 6 tonnes. No membership needed.

01204 954718 07999 998034
Non-Driveable Uplift Secure Storage Insurer Liaison Motorway Scenes Up to 6 Tonnes No Membership
After the Collision

When You Need Accident Recovery Rather Than a Breakdown

Accident recovery is a different job to a breakdown. There’s a scene to clear, damage that often isn’t visible from outside, and usually an insurance claim attached to whatever happens next. Three situations come up most often around Wigan:

Too damaged to drive

Wheels or suspension knocked out of line, a wheel arch fouling the tyre, coolant or oil on the road, lights or panels hanging loose. It needs loading, not driving.

Driveable, but you’re not sure it’s safe

It starts and moves, but the airbags have gone off, there’s a knock from the front end, or the steering pulls. Structural damage doesn’t always show. If in doubt, don’t drive it — we’ll assess it on scene.

Off the road or overturned

Down a verge on the A49, into a ditch out toward Shevington, or on its side. These need winching or a crane lift before the vehicle goes anywhere near a flatbed.

A damaged vehicle gets loaded onto a flatbed rather than towed on its wheels. After a collision the drivetrain, steering geometry or wheel bearings may already be compromised, and towing wheels-down risks turning a repairable car into a write-off. Where the vehicle can’t be reached or repositioned from where it’s ended up, we extract it first — winching it clear, using our Eastract tracked unit where the wheels won’t turn or access is tight, or a HIAB crane lift for anything overturned or down an embankment.

Wigan Coverage

Where We Attend Accidents in Wigan

Wigan is the only town in our coverage area sitting on two separate motorways, and that changes the kind of collisions we get called to. What we need from you on the phone depends on where you’ve ended up.

Motorway — M6 & M58

M6 at J25 and J26 — heavy freight between Preston and Manchester, and J26 is where two motorway flows converge
M58 at J6 — the Liverpool-bound link, carrying long-distance traffic that often isn’t local to the area
Give us the motorway, your direction of travel and the nearest junction or marker post — only if you can do so safely
Tell us if police or National Highways are on scene — we work to their instructions and can’t lift until the scene is released

A-Roads & Rural Stretches

A49 and A577 through the town — junction shunts and rear-end collisions during peak hours
A579 toward Leigh and Atherton
Out toward Standish, Shevington, Wrightington and Appley Bridge the roads thin out fast — single-vehicle run-offs into verges and ditches are common on those exposed stretches in winter
A what3words location or a dropped pin helps enormously on unlit rural stretches

Town, Residential & Car Parks

Wigan town centre, Ince, Swinley, Goose Green, Winstanley, Worsley Mesnes and Haigh
Car park and multi-storey collisions — tell us the height restriction so we send the right unit
Terraced streets with cars parked both sides — we confirm access before the truck sets off rather than arriving and finding we can’t get in
Also covering Hindley, Leigh and Atherton
The Process

How Accident Recovery Works

On arrival our truck positions well back from the scene, angled to shield the work area, before anyone gets out.

1

Check for injuries

If anyone is hurt or the road is blocked, call 999 first. We come second.

2

Call us

Location, what’s happened, how many vehicles, and whether police are attending.

3

We dispatch

Nearest available truck — average 40 minutes, max 60 within our coverage area.

4

Scene clearance

We extract and load the vehicle, then clear what’s left on the road so it can reopen.

5

Storage or delivery

Your home, a bodyshop, or our secure storage while the claim runs.

Claims & Storage

What Happens After We’ve Recovered It

This is the part that makes accident recovery different from a breakdown. With a breakdown the job usually ends when the vehicle reaches a garage. After a collision there’s an insurer, possibly a third party, and an assessment to get through before anyone knows whether the vehicle is being repaired or written off — and it has to sit somewhere safe in the meantime.

We can hold your vehicle in our secure storage while that plays out, and we deal with your insurer directly so you’re not chasing paperwork from the back of a courtesy car. In most cases there are no upfront recovery charges to you. If you already know where the vehicle is going — your own bodyshop, a dealership, or an approved repairer your insurer has named — we’ll take it straight there instead.

If the collision wasn’t your fault, or you want the wider claim handled rather than just the recovery, our Accident Management service covers that side of it. Recovery and storage on their own are fine too — calling us out doesn’t sign you up to anything.

One practical thing worth knowing: get your personal belongings out of the vehicle before it leaves the scene if you’re able to. If you can’t, tell us and we’ll make sure you can collect them from storage.

At the Scene

While You’re Waiting for Us

If anyone is injured, or the road is blocked, or the other driver has left without stopping — call 999 before you call anyone else.

On a motorway hard shoulder, get out of the passenger side if you can, stay behind the barrier, keep your hazards on, and don’t put out a warning triangle. It’s genuinely more dangerous to be out on the carriageway setting one up than to wait behind the barrier. On a quieter road a triangle around 45 metres back is the right call.

If it’s safe to do so, photograph the vehicle positions before anything is moved, along with the damage, the road layout and any skid marks. Once we load up, that evidence is gone. Exchange names, addresses, vehicle registrations and insurance details with the other driver. Under the Road Traffic Act you must stop and give your details after a collision involving injury or damage to someone else’s property, and if details weren’t exchanged at the scene, the incident must be reported to the police as soon as reasonably practicable and within 24 hours.

We’ll keep you updated on our ETA so you’re not left wondering. If anything changes while you’re waiting — someone starts feeling unwell, the vehicle shifts, you feel unsafe — call us back straight away.

Related Services

If It’s Not a Standard Accident Recovery

Not every call after a collision needs the same response. Here’s where to go if your situation is more specific.

Need the Whole Claim Handled?

Non-fault claims, repairs, replacement vehicle — Accident Management

Overturned or Down an Embankment?

Crane lift rather than a winch pull — HIAB Crane Recovery

Van or Commercial Vehicle?

Business and fleet vehicles up to 6 tonnes — Commercial Vehicle Recovery

Motorbike Down?

Strapped and loaded without further damage — Motorbike Recovery

Nowhere to Put It?

Indoor and outdoor storage while the claim runs — Vehicle Storage

No Collision Involved?

Won’t start, won’t move, mechanical fault — Breakdown Recovery
Coverage

Accident Recovery Across Wigan and Nearby

We’re based in Bolton, with recovery vehicles stationed across Greater Manchester and Lancashire rather than sitting at one depot — so the truck that reaches you in Wigan isn’t necessarily coming from the east.

Wigan Standish Shevington Ince Hindley Leigh Atherton

Postcode areas

WN1 WN2 WN3 WN5 WN6

Roads we attend

M6 J25 M6 J26 M58 J6 A49 A577 A579

For every recovery and roadside service we offer locally, see our Wigan area page. Outside Wigan? We cover Bolton, Bury, Chorley and the wider North West — see all areas.

Get in Touch

Had an Accident in Wigan?

Tell us where you are and what’s happened. We’ll confirm the price before we set off, and we aim to be with you in around 40 minutes.

01204 954718 07999 998034
Available 24/7 — day or night, 365 days a year
Common Questions

Accident Recovery in Wigan — FAQs

Who Pays for Accident Recovery?

It depends on the claim. If you’re claiming on your own policy, recovery is usually covered as part of it. If the collision wasn’t your fault, the cost is normally recoverable from the third party’s insurer. In most cases there are no upfront recovery charges to you — we deal with the insurer directly. If you’d rather not involve insurers at all and want to pay privately, we’ll give you a clear price before we dispatch. Either way, ask on the call and we’ll tell you where you stand.

Do I Have to Use the Recovery Firm My Insurer Sends?

Usually not — most policies let you choose your own recovery operator and your own repairer, though some approved-repairer schemes have conditions attached. Check your policy wording or ask your insurer. We’re also on the dispatch networks for the AA, RAC, Green Flag, Call Assist, Britannia Rescue, AXA and Allianz, so depending on who you’re with, you may well get us either way.

Can You Recover My Vehicle if the Police Have Attended?

Yes, once the scene has been released. Tell us on the call that police or National Highways are in attendance and we’ll work to their instructions — we can’t lift a vehicle from a live scene until they’re happy for it to move. One thing to be aware of: if the police decide the vehicle is an obstruction or a danger and order a statutory removal, it goes to their own contracted operator’s compound rather than to us. If that’s already happened, call us anyway — we can collect it from the compound and take it wherever you need.

My Car Still Drives After the Bump — Do I Need Recovery?

Possibly. Collision damage often isn’t visible from outside — a bent subframe, a cracked wheel, a compromised crumple zone or damaged airbag sensors won’t necessarily stop the car moving, but they change how it behaves in a second impact. If the airbags have deployed, there’s fluid on the ground, the steering pulls, the wheels look out of line, or a light or panel is hanging loose, don’t drive it. We’d rather come out and tell you it’s fine than have you drive a compromised vehicle up the A49.

How Long Can You Store My Vehicle?

For as long as the claim needs. Most vehicles sit with us until an assessor has inspected them and the insurer has decided on repair or write-off. Storage is charged at a daily rate, which in most claims is billed to the insurer rather than to you. We have both indoor and outdoor storage, so if the damage has left your vehicle open to the weather, tell us and we’ll put it inside. You can collect personal belongings at any time.

How Quickly Can You Get to an Accident in Wigan?

Average arrival is around 40 minutes, up to 60 at the far edge of our coverage. Our trucks are stationed across the region rather than at a single Bolton depot, so a unit positioned closer to Wigan reaches you faster than one crossing from the east. We’ll give you an ETA on the call and keep you updated.
Call Now

Need Accident Recovery in Wigan?

One call and we’re on our way. Tell us your location, what’s happened and whether police are attending — we’ll do the rest.

01204 954718 07999 998034