Shocking scene as lorry completely demolishes Southampton ferry ticket booth leaving three injured workers trapped in the wreckage
- Ticket kiosk at Red Funnel terminal in Southampton, Hampshire, collapsed today
- An HGV’s rear end clips building and obliterates it as it tries to pass into carpark
- The injuries sustained by the ticket office workers are not said to be significant
Shocking footage shows the moment a lorry struck a ticket booth and destroyed it, leaving three injured workers trapped in the wreckage.
The ticket kiosk at Red Funnel terminal in Southampton, Hampshire, completely collapsed on top of the workers on Monday.
In footage recorded by a nearby ferry webcam, an HGV’s rear end clips the building and obliterates it as it tries to drive into the carpark.
Shocking footage shows the moment a lorry struck a ticket booth and destroyed it, leaving three injured workers trapped in the wreckage
Dozens of onlookers rush across the carpark to the collapsed booth to help those inside.
The injuries sustained by the ticket office workers following the incident are not said to be significant.
The back of the truck collided with the roof of the building, which starts to twist causing the walls to collapse.
The truck comes to a halt but the damage has already been done and before long the roof of the ticket office caves in.
A Red Funnel spokesman said: ‘Three Red Funnel colleagues were inside a check in kiosk which was struck by an HGV this afternoon.
The ticket kiosk at Red Funnel terminal in Southampton, Hampshire, completely collapsed on top of the workers on Monday
‘Our priority is the safety of our team members and passengers, and although there are no significant injuries, both police and ambulance services are in attendance as a precaution.’
This comes after claims lorry drivers could be banned from roads if they hit low bridges after railway bosses raised concerns about disruptions to services caused by negligent truckers.
Network Rail said bridge strikes cost around £23million a year and is seeking to recover damages from HGV operators involved in avoidable crashes.
The infrastructure manager said it will report crashes to the Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain, which has the power to revoke licences.
Lorry drivers hit 1,624 in the 12 months up to March alone — more than four a day, despite the drop-off in traffic during lockdowns.
Driver blamed sat-navs for taking them on routes with bridges too low for their vehicles.
In footage recorded by a nearby ferry webcam, an HGV’s rear end clips the building and obliterates it as it tries to drive into the carpark
But rail bosses have little sympathy for the drivers, arguing it is their responsibility to know the height of their HGVs.
Network Rail chief executive Sir Peter Hendy told The Times: ‘A lorry or bus hitting a railway bridge isn’t an accident.
‘It’s a failure of professional operators and drivers to properly plan their routes and know the height of their vehicles, and can cause fatalities and serious injuries for road users, delays for both road and rail travellers, and could cause a catastrophic railway accident.
A lorry driver got stuck (pictured) when he tried to squeeze his HGV underneath a low railway bridge in Surrey
‘Network Rail looks to recover the entire cost of such incidents from operators and drivers, and also reports all of them to the traffic commissioners for consideration of enforcement and licence revocation.’
Rod McKenzie, managing director of policy and public affairs at the Road Haulage Association, added that specialised sat-navs already allow drivers to programme in the height of their vehicle, meaning they can avoid crashes.
The most expensive incident in the last year was when a lorry hit a bridge in Haymarket, Edinburgh, on January 30, costing £155,690.
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