Drivers on one of Birmingham's inner city roads are getting spooked by more than just traffic lights and sharp bends.

Drews Lane in Ward End has been placed as one of the country's top ten haunted highways after former residents reported the sound of ghostly car accidents.

The congested M6 has topped the list, with Roman soldiers reported on the M6 Toll in Lichfield, Staffordshire. On other sections of the M6 itself, drivers reported seeing a ghostly woman and a phantom lorry driving the wrong way.

The second most-haunted road was the A9 in the Highlands of Scotland, where a family reported seeing an ornate coach and horses complete with bewigged footmen that no other road users appeared to spot.

Other incidents reported included eyes looking out from bushes in Platt Lane, Leigh, Manchester, the scene of a mining disaster years ago; a phantom dog on Great Yarmouth High Street, and ghostly children playing in Gloucester Road, Finsbury Park, north London;

In North Wales a "guardian angel" voice alerted a woman driver of an out-of-control car on the B4293 in Devauden in Wales, and a lady in Victorian dress was spotted on the B3314 near Tintagel in Cornwall.

The Roman soldiers incident on the M6 Toll was related by Sue Cowley, from Coleshill, Warwickshire, who spoke of seeing about 20 figures "more like upright shadows than men" who had no legs but appeared to be "walking through the Tarmac as you would walk through water".

Tony Simmons, sightings co-ordinator for Tarmac, which compiled the survey, said: "We’ve had more sightings of clarity reported from the M6 than any other road in Britain.

"We originally assumed Britain’s spookiest road would turn out to be a dark lane near an ancient battlefield.

"But, when you think about it, it makes sense. The M6 is one of Britain’s longest roads and it travels through many counties – and therefore an immense amount of history.

"We compiled the top ten on the basis of the clarity of sightings rather than just the number of spooky experiences. At this time of year it’s easy to mistake swirling mist for something more sinister and we wanted to make sure we were listing truly spooky sightings."

Tarmac said 45 per cent of drivers said they had seen something unidentifiable while at the wheel.

Spooky goings-on in Drews Lane include cars which would inexplicably roll over in the 1970s.

But residents weren't entirely convinced by the ghostly tales.

"People drive too fast down here," said 21-year-old Cham Bansi, who works at Preeti general store. "That's the most scary thing about this road."

"I've never noticed any ghostly things going on here," said Steven Clarke, a 41-year-old printer. "It's news to me."

Shopper Zed Buddy, aged 23 from Alum Rock agreed. "I've never seen anything ghostly down here before," he said. "I don't think it is the sort of place to see ghosts.

"The closest I've come to seeing one was at a wedding in a village in Pakistan about a year ago.

"It finished at about 12.45am and three or four of us decided to go up the mountain at the village. While we were up there we saw a shadow on the side of us and we saw the shadow of someone walking. We got scared and ran away.

"Here though, you just get kids messing around with their cars."

A stone's throw from the LDV plant, the Drews Lane 'Bermuda Triangle' where cars met their untimely end is on a sharp corner where drivers are urged to slow down.

The road's principle nominee, named only as Jackie, used to live in the street during the mid-1970s between house number 175 and Preeti's.

She claimed there were a couple of crashes each week sometimes, with nothing to explain it.

But one resident, who was living in the same spot as Jackie in the 70s, verified at least part of her story, and revealed that it had been the site of tragedy in the past.

Ida Butler, aged 81, moved into the road in the 1970s. "There haven't been any crashes here recently.

"But before we had one every couple of years. We had quite a few at one time, about 30 years ago. There was a really bad one on the corner by the shop and two people lost their lives there.

"I have never had any ghostly experiences. But there have been some terrible accidents here, so who knows for certain."

The top ten spooky roads were: 
 1. The M6
2. The A9 in the Highlands
3. Platt Lane, Leigh, Manchester 
4. High Street and Suffield Road in Great Yarmouth 
5. Gloucester Drive, Finsbury Park, north London
6. The B4293 at Devauden, Wales
7. The B3314 near Tintagel, Cornwall
8. Loch Dornoch, Highlands
9. The B1403 near Doncaster, South Yorkshire
10. Drews Lane, Ward End, Birmingham.