Lucky escape for huge lorry stuck in level crossing barrier near Bridlington

At approximately 2:50pm, a lorry managed to get stuck at the level crossing in Carnaby, with the barrier coming down in-between the lorry cab and the lorry trailer.

The barrier was then stuck in this gap and the lorry was unable to get free.

Josh Chapman, Media Relations Manager at Network Rail (Eastern region) said: “I’m not entirely sure how it has happened- whether the lorry has tried to go through when it shouldn’t have done or not.

“One of the level crossing barriers has come down, going through the usual sequence as a train was approaching, and has landed on top of the lorry between the cab and the trailer.

“The crossing is designed so that there is a lot of space between the level crossing barrier and the actual tracks- because of this distance and how far away the lorry was from the tracks, we were still able to pass trains through safely.

“All trains had to vastly reduce their speeds while passing through for safety purposes. We had some of our Signalling and Telecoms team head to the site and then they took the barrier under local control. This means that they could control the barrier at the site rather than remotely.

“They then released the lorry which went on its way and so the barrier and crossing returned to normal approximately 25 minutes after the incident began- by about 3:20pm it was all sorted.

“There doesn’t seem to be any damage to the crossing or the barrier and everything seems to be working as they should.

“It seems to be in a way, quite a lucky one really, the way it landed between the cab and the trailer- however things could have been very different.

“This incident could have been a lot worse if the lorry had been stuck on the rails, it's not worth it to take that chance.

“We want to use this incident as a reminder to road users that they need to obey the rules of the crossing. When lights flash and the sirens sound- stop at the crossing, don’t try and beat it.”