RESIDENTS of a rural lane near Liskeard have asked the Council to take action after a huge articulated lorry got stuck outside their home.

Fiona Mitchell lives on the lane connecting the Moorswater Industrial Estate and Old Road with Venslooe Hill. She says that it was the ’third lorry in as many weeks that has got stuck after following Sat Nav’.

She said that only a couple of weeks previously, her husband Alan had spent several hours with his telehandler helping the driver of another lorry to manoever back out of the lane.

This time, he used a forklift to help the driver extricate the truck, but the situation was even trickier, said Fiona. ’This was an absolutely huge, 44 tonne articulated lorry. It was completely wedged. It wasn’t fully loaded, we think if it had been it would have needed a crane to get it out.

’The damage to the trees was horrendous and walls had been scraped.’

Fiona said that the driver was very grateful for the help. He had told her he’d left a business on the Moorswater Industrial Estate to go to Launceston – and had taken a short cut.

She says that after the first two stuck lorry incidents, she asked Cornwall Council to put a sign up at the entrance to the road to advise drivers.

’The Council told me we’d have to wait as they were looking at a long-term plan for Moorswater, to divert lorries so they don’t go up Lodge Hill.’

However, following the most recent incident the Council did come out and put up a temporary wooden sign, says Fiona – but she says that this was removed by someone within 48 hours.

’I called the police this time when the lorry got stuck, and they came out, because the road had been blocked and an ambulance would not have been able to get through,’ she said.

’Why would you take a short cut down a lane in a 44 tonne truck?’