Driver who blocked Colchester's Dutch Quarter was banned

Banned driver Cornel Lihu, 56, crashed into several Grade II listed buildings as he blundered through the historic Dutch Quarter.

The Marks and Spencer delivery driver attempted to navigate the corner of St Helen’s Lane and East Stockwell Street when the articulated lorry became stuck.

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard Lihu had ignored a width restriction sign warning him ahead of entering the narrow medieval roads.

Wedged - Cornel Lihu failed to navigate the narrow streets in the Dutch Quarter (Image: Newsquest)

He then caused hours of delays as the lorry remained wedged overnight on July 13 and until the following morning.

Lihu admitted to magistrates that he was banned from driving at the time and was not insured to be driving the vehicle.

The delivery driver, of Water Lane, Purfleet, also admitted driving without due care and attention.

He was sentenced to 120 hours of community service and handed six points on his driving record.

Lihu must pay £219 in costs and a surcharge.

Castle ward councillor Mark Goacher called for tougher enforcement on rules surrounding HGVs driving in the city centre.

Delays - the road remained blocked overnight and into the following morning (Image: Newsquest)

He said: “When these incidents happen it seems to be someone not using their common sense.

“You look at the size of this lorry and think ‘what was going on in his brain?’.

“The problem is there is such a culture of relying on sat-navs that it’s almost like the brain half switches off.”

He added: “You have got to have delivery lorries come into the city centre but the route they take is something we do need to think about, as well as possibly improving signage.

Common sense - Mark Goacher urged HGV drivers to think before using the Dutch Quarter (Image: Newsquest)

“These vehicles certainly shouldn’t be using the narrow Dutch Quarter streets. They can cause really serious damage.”

The issue is one which has become all-too-frequent in the historic narrow streets which feed into High Street.

In 2012, there were three incidents in the space of four weeks, and the problem reared its head again in 2018 when police officers were forced to close St Helen’s Lane amid another crash.

An M&S spokesman said: “We are very sorry to local residents for any damage and inconvenience that was caused.

"The driver was not employed by M&S and the service provider we used on this occasion did not follow the strict processes we have in place.

"We have investigated and followed up with the service provider to make clear this is unacceptable and ensure this cannot happen again.”