Police hunt thieves who fled after crashing articulated lorry into Shotton train bridge on Sunday night

Police were last night hunting for the driver and passenger of a stolen articulated lorry which crashed into Shotton train bridge.

The truck owned by a Bristol based Prompt Transport was pulling a double deck pallet trailer which was around 18 inches higher than the 14ft 7in clearance of the bridge.

The white DAF truck collided with the Shotton bridge at around 11.45pm on Sunday evening.

On arrival, police found the driver and a passenger had fled the scene of the collision leaving the lorry with the keys in.

Network Rail engineers were spotted arriving at the scene to check the bridge for damage, no disruption was caused to rail travel this morning.

One Wetherspoons customer who was enjoying a late night drink outside the pub next to the bridge told Deeside.com;

I saw the lorry approach the bridge and waved to the driver to stop it was clearly too big to go under the bridge, the lorry stopped and a passenger jumped out who said he knew what he was doing.

The man waved the driver through, then the lorry’s trailer hit the bridge and became wedged underneath, the driver then got out and they both walked off.

A spokesman for North Wales Police confirmed they were looking for two people in relation to the incident, he said;

North Wales Police received a report that a Wagon (DAF truck) was stuck beneath the Railway Bridge in Chester Road West Shotton.

There were no reports of injuries but upon Police arrival, we learned the driver and passenger had fled the scene and despite a search were not located.

Initial enquiries indicate the truck is stolen from the Bristol area and enquiries are now in hand to identify those involved.

HGV’s crashing into Shotton bridge in nothing new, only last month repair work was carried out on the bridge following multiple bridge strikes.

Anyone who has any information should contact North Wales Police via the web live chat http://www.north-wales.police.uk/contact/chat-support.aspx. 

Alternatively phone on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 and quote quote V098618.