Bridgnorth mayor backs calls to repair missing barriers over sheer drop after car fell 50ft

The Shropshire Star revealed last month that residents in Bridgnorth had raised safety fears over the missing barriers in New Road.

The safety barriers have yet to be replaced after a car crashed through them and plummeted 50ft to Hollybush Road below on December 29.

Miraculously, the driver managed to get out despite the vehicle suffering significant damage and landing on its roof.

However, four months on the barriers are still not repaired.

Now the mayor of the town, Rachel Connolly, has joined calls asking Shropshire Council to replace the barriers.

She said there was a "growing sense of concern from the Bridgnorth community" and that the "precarious situation for pedestrians and vehicles" was compounded by a number of missing street lights that are still not working following the crash last year.

Councillor Connolly, who also represents the town for the Labour Party at Shropshire Council, said: “A combination of lack of street lighting, unstable barriers protecting a 50ft drop and poor road conditions due to potholes and deteriorating road surface could pose a health and safety risk to pedestrians and drivers.

"No date has been set for the repair to the bank despite it being over four months since the RTC. This is unacceptable.”

She added that despite many reports on the council's Fix My Street portal there was still no progress.

Dan Morris, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for highways, said: “On December 29, a vehicle and driver crashed through the combined pedestrian and vehicle restraint barriers on New Road and fell 50 metres to the road below. The driver fled the scene and the vehicle was uninsured. Significant cost and work was carried out, both above and below, to make the site safe for members of the public.

“The vehicle caused extensive damage to the original barriers, the barrier posts and the barrier foundations. The vehicle further destroyed a street lighting asset and the associated cabling. It also damaged a brick wall further away from the immediate area at the top of the steps. The impact of the damage on the foundation is significant and a full design and installation package will be needed to resolve the damage which will take considerable time and money.

“The initial temporary barriers placed and secured on site were vandalised and thrown down the embankment. These have been replaced and secured once again. The street lighting outages on New Road are directly related to the vehicle damage.

“New Road is an ageing but is in perfectly serviceable condition, with the exception of a few potholes that are already logged in the system for repair.”