Watch moment lorry driver strikes bridge with digger in Putney as police say ‘lucky’ nobody was injured

This is the moment a lorry driver nearly caused a tragic accident when the digger on his flatbed smashed into a railway bridge in South West London. The unfortunate incident happened in Putney on Upper Richmond Road at around 12pm on October 21, when the driver of the eight-wheeler HGV misjudged the height of his load when travelling under the tracks at East Putney Underground station. On Tuesday (November 19) Mircea-Octavian Contra, 35, from Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention at Wimbledon Magistrates.

He was driving a Volvo FM420 when he was also accused of failing to comply with a height limit sign, court documents show. Contra is now facing an unlimited fine and up to nine penalty points on his license. In a post on X, a Met Police spokesperson said: "The Commercial Vehicle Unit deal with a high number of bridge strikes, all of which are avoidable.

We work with Network Rail[1] to evidence the delays caused to passengers and damage to their infrastructure.