Dad demands council action after lorry causes £15k damage crashing into his home

A lorry hit the property causing £15,000 worth of damage
-Credit:Andrew Bode


A dad is calling for increased road safety measures to stop drivers mounting the pavement outside his home. Andrew Bode has lived near the junction of Ball Haye Green and Nelson Street, in Leek, for 17 years and is on the only access road to a factory.

But the 61-year-old says the problem has got worse. Incidents have included a lorry striking his home and causing £15,000 damage.

Now Staffordshire County Council has installed CCTV and double-yellow lines at the junction. But Andrew also wants bollards or a fence to better protect pedestrians and his home.

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The CCTV has captured 150 incidents of vehicles mounting the pavement in just two months.

Vehicles often mount the pavement and miss the Ball Haye Green property by just inches
Vehicles often mount the pavement and miss the Ball Haye Green property by just inches -Credit:Andrew Bode

Andrew said: “All these are recorded, so I’ve raised 150 incidents with the police. The police say they are stretched so they said they appreciate it but are unlikely to take any action unless there is an actual incident. Highways have said they are not prepared to do anything other than double-yellow lines because if they put up bollards or a fence it would likely only get hit or knocked down by vehicles trying to turn the corner. I said to them surely that’s the whole point of a bollard or a fence that it gets knocked down rather than somebody or something. So we’re in a situation where I feel the only way anything is going to get done to protect ourselves, our house, or anybody using the pavement on that corner is if somebody or something gets hit and I don’t want that to happen.

“We’re now in a situation where our boys are probably safer crossing the road than they are standing on the pavement outside our front door. The thing is it’s not as if it’s an accident waiting to happen, it already has happened and the council will not do anything.”

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A new access road for the factory was proposed 30 years ago - and never actioned.

County Councillor Mark Deaville, cabinet member for strategic highways at Staffordshire County Council, said: “We are aware of Mr Bode’s concerns about vehicles mounting the pavement on Nelson Street and our highways teams are working hard to find a solution. Crews have explored a number of solutions and have now installed double-yellow lines at the location. This should help to keep the junction clear so larger vehicles can safely negotiate the corner. We will continue to monitor the situation and are actively looking at the possibility of further measures to improve the protection of Mr Bode’s family home.”

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