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Driver flees from van trapped under bashed bridge

Harriet Heywood
BBC News, Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire Police The back of a silver van which has become stuck under a bridge. The back doors have been wedged against the bridge - which has bright yellow stripes and yellow letters reading, Low bridge - 2.0m - 6'-6''.Cambridgeshire Police
The now recovered vehicle became stuck despite the warning signs

A driver fled from their van after hitting one of the most bashed bridges in the country, police said.

The Ford Transit became stuck under the two-metre high (6ft 6in) bridge at Stonea, between Chatteris and March in Cambridgeshire, on Tuesday night.

From 2023 to 2024 the bridge, which carries the main Ely to Peterborough railway line, was hit 17 times by vehicles, although people living locally claimed the figure could be higher.

The driver "made off across fields" following the incident, a Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said.

Cambridgeshire Police View of the van from under the bridge shows the roof is crumpled and dented from hitting the top of the brick structure. The front right wheel of the van has been lifted off the ground and the van is at an angle.Cambridgeshire Police
Officers attended the Stonea railway crossing following reports of a bridge strike

The Stonea Road bridge was named by Network Rail as the joint second most bashed bridge alongside Lower Downs Road in Wimbledon, London.

Cambridgeshire County Council previously said it was working with Network Rail and a rail consultation firm to install cameras to monitor the site 24 hours a day.

The new cameras would monitor the location and collect data, such as general traffic information and near misses.

A county council spokesperson said reviewing this data would help the authority better understand the reasons bridge strikes occur.

Cambridgeshire Police View from the top of the railway bridge shows the van being recovered from under the bridge. The roof is dented and crumpled inwards. The van is being towed away from behind. A train is stopped on top of the railway bridge while recovering is underway.Cambridgeshire Police
Cambridgeshire County Council previously said it was working to install cameras to monitor the site

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