Car driver 'lucky to get out alive' after crashing into telegraph pole and walls

The car ended up 'partially overturned' in the crash at around 10.50pm on Friday.

Councillor Heather Kidd said it was the second time in the last two years there has been a serious car crash in the village; in 2021 the driver of a Ford Kuga was killed in September 2021 in similar circumstances.

"This time he was lucky to get out alive," she said, explaining that she was sitting in her house when she heard a bang.

"He had come from the Churchstoke direction on the A490, took out a telegraph pole, again, hit a stone wall then careered on down the road and hit the big stone wall around West House," she explained.

"The car was partially upside down. Firefighters had to cut him out."

Photos from the scene show the knocked over telegraph pole and damaged wall and fence outside a bungalow on the A490, as well as the demolished wall outside the house on the corner of the junction with the B4386.

Resident Yvonne Evans added: "I've lived here 42 years and they're the only two of those types of accidents I've ever seen. I've never seen a wall be rebuilt in 42 years."

She also expressed concern about the safety of the junction where the A490 from Churchstoke meets the B4386, adding: "I do think we could do some more signage there because if you don't know the road you come down and you suddenly hit a junction."

Councillor Kidd said a doctor in the village and a lady across the road went to the scene, but said there was "no any anyone could have got him out".

Shropshire Fire & Rescue service said it received a call at 11.17pm, and sent four fire crews from Bishops Castle and Wellington. A crew from Montgomery, run by Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service, also attended.

The crash has also knocked out phone and internet connections for a number of residents, and expressed concern for "elderly or vulnerable people who can't get hold of carers", while others work from home. She added that mobile phone signal in the village was "not great".

Councillor Kidd said an OpenReach engineer had been to the village

An Openreach spokesperson said: “Our engineers were called out to the village of Chirbury, following reports of one of our poles being damaged in a road traffic accident late on Friday evening. We’re doing our best to get everyone back online as quickly as possible but engineers are still assessing the extent of the damage, so we don’t yet have a date for when repairs will be complete.

“We understand how frustrating this must be for anyone is affected; we encourage anyone experiencing any disruption with their phone or broadband service to report it to their service provider who will then inform us”.