'Frightening' crash shows Bridgnorth needs more speed calming measures, councillor says
A town needs to implement more speed calming measures to protect its residents, a councillor has said.
Julia Buckley was speaking after the most recent crash in Bridgnorth saw a vehicle plough through an old wall just yards away from a cliff edge before fleeing the scene.
The vehicle, believed to be a white van, smashed through the wall past Rose Lane – near the roundabout joining Listley Street, St Mary's Street and the B4373 – at about 11pm on Saturday.
A 76-year-old man who lives behind the impacted wall said he felt "distressed", and felt speeding was a problem throughout the town.
Councillor Buckley reported the incident to the police, fire services and Shropshire Council's highways department, which secured the area with barriers for public safety.
"This was a very frightening incident which has shaken many local residents," Councillor Buckley said.
"It bears testament to their very real concerns about motorists speeding through our town as though it is a race track.
"We were incredibly lucky no one was seriously hurt or killed on this occasion, but we need to explore traffic calming measures to protect our residents to prevent this from happening again.
"This is a very visible reminder of the consequences of speeding. Luckily no-one was hurt, but the driver and any pedestrians could easily have been killed on this corner of a very steep hill."
Bricks and mortar fell onto the property of retired resident Paul Lewis, who said had the culprit crashed "a few yards further down", he would have driven off a cliff.
Marguerite Elcock, 53, former crown court prosecutor, helped clear the debris and said she expected more to be done by the police.
Officers in Bridgnorth confirmed they were carrying out CCTV enquiries.
Anyone with information should contact police on 101 or email bridgnorth.snt@westmercia.pnn.police.uk and quote incident reference number 00337_i of June 20.
