Scarborough lorry crash horror 'was an accident waiting to happen'

Councillor Janet Jefferson, who represents the Castle ward, says that the increase in the number of lorries travelling down the narrow roads in the Old Town is a major concern.

Yesterday morning a woman was taken to hospital with serious injuries when a lorry crashed into a parked car and some steps near the junction of Castle Gardens and Castlegate. It is thought the woman was pinned against a wall by a parked car.

“It is something we are concerned about because we’re getting high-sided vehicles along our narrow roads. They come down Longwestgate and Princess Street and they get to the end into Castlegate and they can't manoeuvre and turn right," said Cllr Jefferson.

"This happens quite often, but yesterday there was a serious incident because the lorry was trying to manoeuvre, it then moved, pushing a parked car into a lady and pinning her against a wall."

"I thought yesterday was a disaster, it really shook me up because I thought this is frightening, and we’re getting more of it.

"It really shook me, I was shaking yesterday afternoon to think of the horror of this happening.

"I was really, really, shocked."

Cllr Jefferson says this isn't the first time that there has been a problem with lorries, and that before Christmas a very large vehicle reversed down the full length of Longwestgate.

"It was a serious accident waiting to happen, normally it has been a property that has been damaged but yesterday it was a lady," she said.

"It should never have happened in the first place, the vehicle should not have gone down that road."

Cllr Jefferson suggested that a booking system for larger deliveries such as sofa suites or kitchen units could be implemented to remove parked cars and says work is progressing at the County Council to address road safety in the area.

"It’s the logistics of the deliveries in the area, the larger vehicles should offload to a smaller vehicle and then go to the narrow streets. You can’t take a 40-foot vehicle down a street that’s only big enough for a car.

"We’re going to get new signs on the junctions, probably at the start of Longwestgate and round near the market where Princess Street is because there isn’t the room to turn.

"The main important thing is we’re going to have signage that warns people of the narrowness of a road and the ability for certain traffic. I mean, you don’t go under a low bridge with a double-decker. An advanced warning should avoid things like this."

Firefighters, police and structural engineers were all in attendance yesterday and the road was closed whilst emergency services dealt with the incident. It reopened around 1.15pm yesterday.

The police are now appealing for information, if you witnessed the collision or have any dash cam or CCTV footage, call 101 quoting ref: 12210045077.