Shattering experience (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Shattering experience

8:14am Tuesday 23rd September 2008 in Swindon By Raeanne Nightingale

Two massive panes of glass shattered across a busy road yesterday when a glazing van struck a railway bridge.

The driver of the van, who had travelled all the way from Germany to deliver his delicate load, misjudged the height of his fragile cargo.

And the glass, measuring 2.3 by 2.6 metres, struck the Whitehouse road railway bridge in Swindon with such force it smashed into shards all over the highway.

Police, Network Rail and Swindon Town Council representatives were called to deal with the chaos at around 2.30pm.

The driver confessed to a German-speaking police officer that he realised the frame on his flat bed lorry was three metres high but that he thought he could pass unhindered as the bridge measures 3.1 metres.

However, he didn't take into account the fact that the glass, worth 4,000 Euros or £3,174, was raised higher on the back of his vehicle.

The road was closed for 40 minutes while the debris was cleared.

Train services are not thought to have been affected.