Fury as Sat Nav blunders see HGVs stuck on country lane for nine hours

Residents are calling for action to deter heavy goods vehicle drivers from using narrow roads as shortcuts to and from the Colne Valley in Huddersfield. The long-running problem has come to the fore after an articulated lorry carrying a milk delivery got stuck on a steep hairpin bend while trying to get down Intake Road at Ainley Place, just up from Wilberlee, Slaithwaite. The lorry, believed to be heading for Aldi in Slaithwaite, got stuck at around 7am on Monday morning and wasn’t free until around 4pm after cranes were brought in from Selby to drag it clear.

Slaithwaite resident Dave Sykes, who runs a business near where the lorry got stuck, says it had caused ‘mayhem’ as well as damaging a wall and the road surface. The problems of HGV using Intake Road have been getting worse since the closure of Moorside Edge for wall repair work. : Man killed after being hit by car as he crossed Manchester Road as police issue statement

He says heavy lorries have been taking a diversion to avoid a wall-building project on Moorside Edge, but some of those lorries have failed to take note of signs saying the route is not suitable for HGVs. Instead, drivers who are ignorant about the area have been following their sat-nav devices and getting stuck. Dave, who has a Class 1 HGV driving licence, previously had to help one lorry driver reverse back up Intake Road, which took around three hours.

He’s very annoyed because he got no thanks for helping out and the HGVs just keep coming. Locals claim that the warning signs are not sufficient to warn lorry drivers as some may not realise just how narrow the roads are, with hairpins that are tricky even for cars. “It’s not a road for a 44-tonne lorry. It’s more than a hairpin – it’s more like a ‘V’.

Articulated lorry stuck just before a hairpin bend on Intake Road at Slaithwaite, Huddersfield

Shortly after the lorry got stuck, he told YorkshireLive: “This lorry is an articulated one.

I went out and went ballistic. It needs a crane to lift it. It’s just mayhem here.

It is well and truly wedged in. It’s appalling. “He has just driven past two ‘No HGV’ signs.” YorkshireLive had a brief conversation with the lorry driver who said he did not see any warning signs.

Dave Sykes of Slaithwaite says too many lorry drivers are using unsuitable roads to access the village

Kirklees Council says drivers are failing to heed the signs.

Colin Parr, Strategic Director for Environment and Climate Change said: “Large temporary warning signage has been installed at the bottom of Bank Gate and Heys Lane for the duration of the closure to help deter HGVs from using this route. “These signs reaffirm the permanent signage which states the unsuitability of these roads for HGVs.
“Unfortunately HGV drivers aren’t adhering to the warnings and following sat navs which are advising these routes as a shortcut to access the M62 rather than taking the main route through Huddersfield to the motorway.

“A signed diversion route is in place for suitable vehicles from the bottom of Bank Gate is Nabbs Lane, Holme Lane, Cop Hill Side, Old Ground, Coal Gate, Bradshaw Lane, Laund Road and vice versa.”