Dangling farm trailer causes road and rail delays
Police closed a county road and rail passengers faced delays of around an hour after a trailer carrying potatoes was found dangling over a bridge.
Firefighters and police officers were called to Hopton Heath in Clungunford at around 6.20 last night after a tractor lost control of its trailer which was filled with potatoes.
One fire crew from Clun and one from Wellington assisted the farmer to move the trailer to a safe location.
Force duty inspector Emma Wright said the road had to be closed and one train was delayed.
She said: "We first got the call at 6.15pm and by 7.20pm everything was back to normal.
"The road was only closed for a very short period of time but one train had to be stopped causing delays just short of an hour.
"The only real damage caused was to a fence."
Speaking on social networking site Twitter, an eyewitness called Jess said: "Just had major drama in Hopton Heath. A tractor pulling a 14 ton trailer of potatoes ended up in a ditch on the railway bridge.
"Train stopped. Police & fire brigade out. National rail surveyors to check the bridge. 3 tractors to pull it so it didn't go onto the tracks. Those damn potatoes!"
A spokesman for Network Rail said they received a call at 6.20pm from West Mercia Police reporting that a tractor had struck the Hopton Heath Bridge and was 'precariously positioned'.
He said a train had stopped short of the bridge after being advised to do so by emergency services.
Network Rail engineers arrived on the scene at 7.15pm and gave permission for trains to begin running again at slow speed.
He said trains were permitted to travel at full speed by 8.45pm.
The spokesman said: "There was no damage to the bridge, just to the fencing near the bridge. The area has a temporary fence around it and our engineers will need to return to carry out proper repairs."
