14470/1Slow down is the message being given to hauliers after an articulated Mercedes lorry collided with the Kingway Bridge making it the seventh to do so this year.

A London lorry driver from the Forest Freight Company in Essex struck the bridge on the A429 to Corston around 8.30am last Monday.

The collision mangled the lorry's trailer but the driver escaped uninjured.

Neither trains nor traffic were delayed by the incident, although Malmesbury police attended the scene.

Now St Paul Malmesbury Without parish councillor Simon Ryan says action must be taken to address this accident blackspot.

Mr Ryan, of Barton Way, Corston, said it was unbelievable Wiltshire County Council and Network Rail had done nothing.

"I cannot believe it is the seventh time this year a lorry has collided into the bridge. Something needs to be done about it. I feel sorry for people using the railway. It must cause havoc for passengers when their train is delayed when a lorry hits the bridge.

"It also has a knock-on effect for the people of Rodbourne and Norton because they suddenly get lots of through traffic.

To solve the problem I believe we need to slow the speed of hauliers and have some signage across it that indicates the height of the bridge.

"For some time our parish council has been asking for a laser beam to warn drivers approaching to fast to slow down."

Parish councillor Daphne Jones also called for drivers to slow down.

Mrs Jones has catalogued lorries striking the bridge for nearly ten years, and she says accidents have become more frequent in recent times.

Mrs Jones said: "People have been talking about this time and time again. Lorry drivers must understand the A429 is a local route not a trunk road.

"They need to slow down. When these incidents happen it is wasteful for the time of business people travelling through. It also badly affects those who do not know the area. It is OK for local people because we can take another road but they are left stuck in a queue under the bridge."

Parish council chairman Bernard Ingham said it was an on-going problem for residents.

Mr Ingham said: "We are trying to make sensible suggestions to do something about it. We need a better warning system for vehicles approaching and also for drivers themselves."

Adam Butcher, of Wiltshire County Council press office, said the problem lay with drivers and it was unfair to blame the county council.

Mr Butcher said: "The Kingway bridge is exceedingly well signposted from the roundabouts to and from Malmesbury. It depends if the drivers are paying attention to it.

"There is no excuse for hitting the bridge. There have been calls for us to lower the road but that is impossible because of the drainage problem.

"As a council we are always looking to see what more we can do. Really this is an issue for hauliers. They ought to know the height of their trailers.

"As for the laser beam idea which has been suggested, there is the technology to use infrared light to warn drivers but Network Rail chose to erect a collision beam as the best warning system."

Kirsty Anderson, Network Rail media relations officer, said educating lorry drivers better was the solution to the problem.

Miss Anderson said: "We have a bridge guard system in place which automatically tells us when a collision occurs and repairs are needed or a train has to be stopped. We have also got plenty of signage up on the bridge to warn people. The fact that no trains were delayed shows that our technology kicked into action today."

Miss Anderson added that Network Rail had produced a guide to raise awareness among lorry drivers about driving under bridges.