I guess it says something about the crime rate here that two hours after a lorry knocked some stones out of a wall, the local police were out and taping the wall with crime tape!
Every three or four months a big lorry will come down the road and get stuck as it can’t get round the corner (not the same lorry). Smaller ones can, however big articulated ones can’t and shouldn’t really come down the hill.
Their only option is to painstakingly work their way around the corner with someone helping them, waving the lorry as it goes in tiny bits back and forward until they can get round the corner – which Ian has done a couple of times if they haven’t had someone with them – or just to go all hard core about it and turn round the corner, taking bits of the wall opposite or parts of the wall of the house opposite us with it. Looking at the lamp post, which is at quite an angle, I guess that’s been hit a few times over the years too and the electric box on the post is looking a bit knocked around!
It doesn’t happen enough for anyone to really worry about it (other than any lorry driver who has left a bit of his trailer behind) – or our neighbour whose wall is hit. As he doesn’t actually live here, he only ever finds out about it when he visits – and then he just pops any stones that have been knocked out of the wall back up again. He can’t do anything as he doesn’t have the lorry’s details and it’s not something that happens regularly or significant enough for him to do anything else about it. It’s just something that’s a bit annoying.
However, a lorry came down the hill again at the weekend and got stuck and just forced his way around the corner. Ian saw him and went out to help – but the lorry driver had already hit the neighbours wall and knocked out quite a few big stones and was heading off without stopping. Ian was able to get the lorry’s registration plate as well as take photos of it. Which was just as well as this time the damage was a bit more than sticking a few stones back on top again.
So Ian went to see our neighbour where he lives in Cervo, tell him what happened and give him the details of the lorry including the registration number. This time the lorry had knocked out some really big stones which would be too heavy for even two people really to pick up, so our neighbour is going to contact the lorry company and ask them to repair it – which I guess is why he contacted the police.
He’s also going to suggest to the council that they put up a warning sign for lorries.