Tight squeeze as load goes through small village street...

Now THAT'S a tight squeeze: Truck driver struggles to ease giant wind turbine around narrow village bend 

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 9:35 AM on 6th April 2011

The driver was no doubt holding his breath as, watched by disapproving locals, he came within inches of scraping their walls.

The truck edged its way around the tight bend as it carried an enormous wind turbine through a tiny village.

The turbine took up the whole A12 as it was hauled through Farnham en route to a development at nearby Kessingland near Lowestoft, Suffolk.

Tight squeeze: The wind turbine inches its way past a house on the narrow bend of the A12 in Farnham near Lowestoft, Suffolk

The giant load was carried through the notorious accident black-spot at around 5.15pm on Monday, taking up the whole carriageway as it went.

Just when the first turbine had made it through, there was another load that passed through the village last night.

Stunned villagers renewed their calls for an urgent bypass after seeing the lorry rumble through.

 

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Residents in Marlesford, Little Glemham, Stratford St Andrew and Farnham are fighting for the heat to be taken off the bottlenecked four-mile stretch.

They insist their lives have been made intolerable by rising traffic and pollution levels.

Peter Norris, who lives on the savagely twisting Farnham bend, took the photographs of the wind turbine from outside his home.  

The boat builder was driving home from work on Monday when he became stuck behind the wind turbine convoy.  

Protection: A police motorbike escorts the lorry driver through the village where residents have made repeated calls for a bypass to avoid scenes like this

Mr Norris said: 'They had to stop at the bend at Glemham because they couldn't get round it without stopping the traffic. The police set up a cordon and let us through first.

'I got home before it and grabbed my camera.

'I don't think I've ever seen a load as long as that. It was incredible.' He added: 'The whole road had to be clear and the queues were tremendous.

'And the load on Tuesday night was even bigger.

'The point is that something needs to be done because we are going to get more and more heavy loads coming through. It really hammers it home.' 

Angry villagers have been battling for a relief road for decades and a fully-agreed scheme was axed at the eleventh hour in 1996.

Suffolk County Council, which owns the road, backs a bypass but says it has little chance of securing funding - thought to be over £50million - as spending cuts begin to bite.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1373915/Gently-does-Residents-look-giant-wind-turbine-hauled-round-tight-bend.html#ixzz1IjgDNVR5