A police investigation is under way into the “nightmare” crash in Marlborough yesterday (Friday) of a huge 10-tonne tractor pulling a trailer packed high with up to 20 tonnes of straw bales.
They overturned at the three-way junction of George Lane, Salisbury Road and the London Road, the bales crashing down on to the small public garden area where there is a public street bench.
But fortunately nobody was sitting there and the tractor driver escaped unharmed too.
But as the final remains of the straw (see picture) showed, anyone who had been walking past or sitting there they would most likely have been crushed to death.
That didn’t happen and fortunately too there were four Swindon police officers visiting Marlborough Police Station, less than a 100 yards away, to make two drug possession arrests.
They initially dealt with the traffic chaos until Police Sergeant Barry Reed arrived with members of his police support team to take over the control of the queues of delayed cars, coaches, lorries and buses.
“I have seen something like this happen before but not in Marlborough and certainly not in the past few years,” Sgt. Reed told Marlborough News Online.
And he added: “The bales of straw came off because the strapping has broken. They came off on one side, which caused the trailer to tip over on its side at the junction.
“We are investigating the situation because there are traffic offences of carrying a dangerous load and failing to secure a load properly, which is now being looked at.
“We know who the driver was but we can’t name him while the investigation is going on. It wouldn’t be fair for me to comment on that.”
He estimated that it had taken just under two hours to clear up the mess and allow the traffic to flow north, east, south and west again after frustrating delays.
And he revealed: “When we have got out traffic management system operating we shall try to ensure that the arterial routes in and out of Marlborough will be kept free. It can be done in such a way that the traffic is kept flowing.
“We are looking at a traffic management strategy as part of our neighbourhood policing because we receive a lot of complaints about the traffic problems in Marlborough, mainly about the speed of traffic in the town and also in the surrounding villages.
“So what we are looking to doing is creating a strategy for Marlborough and its surrounding area. I have had a meeting with the Marlborough Area Board already and a meeting, albeit on the phone, with Wiltshire Council that does a lot of work with the education of children.
“The idea is to come up with a document for us to publish that when people have a complaint about areas of traffic management they knew who to contact.”
One of heroes of the crash scene who organised the removal of the crashed tractor and trailer plus to clean up of the hay was Nick from Wroughton – he preferred not to give his full name – who works for the contractor who supplies the bales of straw.
“A guy called Glyn was driving at the time,” Nick (pictured) told Marlborough News Online. “I don’t know his second name. Yes, I have seen this happen before. We probably get one crash a year, I suspect.
“It happens to lorries, it happens to tractors, trailers. It’s just one of those things. There was oil on the road, it slipped and went over.
“We got it cleared and the traffic operating again as soon as we could, as soon as was possible.”
Councillor Peggy Dow, who has raised serious concerns about traffic chaos at the Salisbury Road junction, especially on Friday afternoons, told Marlborough News Online: “This awful crash showed once again how dangerous the Salisbury Road is at the moment.
“And how traffic conditions will get worse when new housing developments are built there in the coming years. That’s why it is important that cars ought not to be parked on the Salisbury Road since it is narrow enough already.
“I shall suggest that residents should be allowed to use the Salisbury Road recreation ground car park for their vehicles, which are continually in danger of being hit.”
See also: Monster tractor crash brings predicted traffic chaos to Marlborough’s Salisbury Road junction
Urgent action needs to be taken to end Marlborough’s “nightmare” traffic conditions
Monster tractor crash brings predicted traffic chaos to Marlborough’s Salisbury Road junction
