Metric signs call after bridge crash

Another foreign lorry has hit a notorious low bridge near Cannock, prompting police to call for signs at the blackspot to be written in metric.nextpage

The Scania articulated lorry, which was driven by a man from Slovenia, struck the railway bridge in Station Drive, Four Ashes, closing the road for two hours. The accident - the third since April - saw the driver attempt to clear the 12ft 3in bridge but the underside of the bridge ripped into the top of his empty trailer just after 1pm yesterday.nextpage

Police now want to see warnings giving the bridge's height in metric alongside existing signs so foreign drivers are clear about the height. The bridge, which was struck by this training bus in April, carries the main passenger rail route from Wolverhampton to Scotland but trains were not affected.nextpage

A Hungarian lorry struck a bridge in April. Pc Michael Percival, of Watling Street police station in Cannock, said: "We are making recommendations, as are Network Rail, to have metric signs put up in the area. This will hopefully alleviate the problems."