Sat Navs send LGVs through Hinckley DO

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Sat Nav glitch causing lorry load of problems in weight restricted area

‘LOST’ lorries aiming for Caterpillar’s Desford plant are creating chaos on a weight-restricted Earl Shilton street because false satellite directions divert them to the Royal Mail sorting office.

The HGV drivers only realise the mistake when they arrive at the Station Road unit and are faced with post vans rather than earth-moving machinery.

With no room to turn around on the forecourt the vehicles have to manoeuvre out onto the main road, blocking traffic and halting pedestrians.

Resident, Lyzette Rowley, 36, who has lived on Station Road for almost all her life said: “There is a 7.5tonne weight limit on the street but that doesn’t stop these big HGVs from thundering along it.

“This has been a problem ever since the bypass was built. For some reason on the internet the billing address for Caterpillar at Desford comes out as the Royal Mail sorting office down the road and so the arctics are heading for that.

“Station Road is just not suitable for this kind of traffic. The vibration you get when the lorries drive down is horrendous, the whole house shakes.

“And when they have to back out onto the road to turn round they stop the traffic and block the pavement. I’ve seen cyclists and bikers nearly wiped out. There are a lot of schoolchildren who walk along this road too and I think it is just too dangerous. The lorries are down here at all hours.”

Confused as to how the drivers could be so off track Lyzette and others in her family have gone out to speak to them and been informed about the billing address blunder.

When Lyzette checked on Google Earth this was confirmed.

She said: “Initially we thought it was a sat-nav error then when we looked on the internet ourselves we realised what the drivers were saying was true.

“I have no idea how or why the information is wrong and I don’t know how it can be fixed. I’ve contacted Caterpillar at Desford and the local council but nothing has been done about it.

“Why can’t a sign be put up on the bypass simply saying Caterpillar - this way. That might help.”

Highways authority Leicestershire County Council are responsible for the area’s roads. A spokesman said: “We understand the residents’ concerns over lorries inappropriately using this weight-restricted road. We work regularly with the police and sat-nav companies to address such issues across the county.

“In this case the issue appears to be heavy goods vehicle drivers trying to go to an incorrect address. We will contact Caterpillar and work with them to try and prevent this from occurring in the future.”

No one from Caterpillar was available for comment.