A Fen road has been left precariously dangerous after a lorry crashed off into a dyke taking with it the verge, residents claim.
Residents living close to the collision site in March Road, Tipps End, fear there will be a more serious incident after Cambridgeshire Highways removed warning cones from the crash scene.
Last Thursday morning, the articulated lorry crashed off the road as it moved over to accommodate an on-coming van.
The lorry was carrying a full load of beet pellets from the British Sugar plant at Wissington to Newtown, Wales.
Just 16 miles into his journey, the driver believes a combination of wind and rain forced his vehicle into the side of the road and it overturned into a nearby ditch.
“I’m just happy to have escaped without injury,” he said. “It didn’t feel too windy but I did feel it a bit as I came round the corner and along this stretch of road.”
That same day, a van hit a pothole and ended up marooned in a nearby verge. Fortunately, both drivers escaped unharmed.
Lisa Buckingham, who raised the alarm by calling emergency services, fears the damage to the road could cause another collision.
“I’m hopeful not too much damage has been done,” he said as he waited for help to arrive. “But it’s a bit too early to tell.”
Emergency services attended both incidents and later put out cones and organised one way traffic to enable the lorry to be recovered.
Mrs Buckingham, who initially had problems getting help from emergency services as there was some discussion over which side of the Norfolk/Cambridgeshire border the collision happened, wants the warning cones put back until the road is repaired.
“We always have a problem when we contact the emergency services as our house is in Norfolk but the ditch is in Cambridgeshire. The county border runs down the centre of the road. It’s very frustrating especially as we have accidents along here at least two or three times a year.
“The worst case was when my husband was attacked by burglars two years ago. He was hit on the head, and left unconscious for half an hour. When he came round with a bleeding head and tried to get help it took him 40 minutes to get through because they kept questioning where he was.
“It happened again on Thursday morning, and I have given up trying to report the need for cones to highways via the website because it wouldn’t accept my details because I am in Norfolk.
“There is a real need for some sort of warning as there is no run-off where the lorry went into the ditch. The road is very narrow, which means vehicles have to move over to allow each other to pass and a car could easily go over into the ditch, especially in the dark when they won’t be able to see what has happened.
“I can’t understand why the cones were taken away in the first place. We also want the speed limit reduced to help make it safer,” said Mrs Buckingham.
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