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Mock sign put on viaduct where boat appeared stuck

Andy Trigg
BBC News, Essex
James Barke A large white boat on a trailer passing between two railway arches. A man in an orange florescent uniform is standing behind the trailer and a white car is travelling through the neighbouring arch James Barke
Photographs of the luxury yacht in the arches were posted online with some users believing the boat was stuck

A tongue-in-cheek road sign has been fitted to the side of a railway viaduct where a £1m yacht was wrongly suspected of getting stuck.

Photographs of the 15m (50 ft) vessel passing through arches on the A1060 in Chelmsford city centre last April were posted online and viewed hundreds of thousands of times.

The company that transported the boat said it did not get stuck, it was simply passing through slowly.

Essex Highways urged against unofficial road signs being installed.

Richard Smith/BBC A sign between two of the viaduct's arches. It's a rectangular sign with a black border. The background is white and there's the shape of a boat within a red circle. Arrows within the sign suggests the arches are four metres apartRichard Smith/BBC
The unofficial sign suggests the arches of the viaduct are four metres apart

"We're aware of the unofficial sign that was placed on the viaduct," an Essex Highways spokesperson added.

"We kindly urge the public to not install unofficial signs, as they can mislead people and cause confusion."

James Barke, joint managing director of the Essex-based boat dealership that transported the vessel, said he saw the funny side of the sign being fitted.

"Anything that makes people laugh in January is a good thing - and anything to do with boats is fun anyway," he said.

"I don't condone people putting up unofficial road signs but someone in Chelmsford clearly has a great sense of humour."

Richard Smith/BBC A wide shot of the viaduct showing five of its arches. A white van is travelling through one, while a man walks through anotherRichard Smith/BBC
Drivers travelling east through the viaduct could see the unofficial sign

Mr Barke said no damage was caused to the yacht as it passed through the arches, and there was a 5cm (2in) clearance either side of the hull.

The viaduct was built between 1840 and 1843 and is used by Greater Anglia trains heading in and out of Chelmsford.

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