Lorry nearly loses its roof after colliding with bridge

Damage caused to lorry after it collided with a bridge in Banbridge.

Local police have warned drivers of larger vehicles to be aware of their lorry’s dimensions in light of the collision.

The incident occurred at The Cut in Banbridge on Sunday - the vehicle nearly lost its roof - it then drove onto Portadown not knowing the extent of the damage.

PSNI Banbridge posted: “This vehicle found out the clearance height of The Cut in Banbridge yesterday. It then drove on to Portadown, not realising the damage done. Not the smartest move.

“First up, if you’re driving a vehicle you’re not used to, make sure you know it’s dimensions. Van and lorry drivers in particular, know the height of your vehicle and always check the marked clearance height of bridges before passing under them for the first time.

“Secondly, if you’re driving a larger vehicle, especially one with a cab where you maybe wouldn’t feel a smaller impact, if you have even a suspicion you’ve hit something - pull over. Check it out, and where necessary, contact ourselves.

“If it happens to be a railway bridge you hit, you must immediately use the phone beside the bridge to contact NIR. There’s no way of telling what structural damage could be caused by a bridge strike, and those trains aren’t light.

“Remember, only the fire service are qualified to do make your motor a convertible by the road side, but you really don’t want that to happen.”