Stone archway crushes lorry cab

The driver had never delivered to the hotel before

A lorry driver had a "miracle" escape when masonry from an archway smashed into his cab in Cumbria.

The Eastern European driver was making a delivery to Graythwaite Manor Hotel in Grange-over-Sands when his truck hit the top of the stone structure.

The one-tonne keystone crushed the cab to steering wheel level - missing the driver by inches. He was treated in hospital for a minor head injury.

Hotel owners Jane and Jimmy Duncan said the man must have a "guardian angel".

Mrs Duncan said the driver, who was delivering fruit and vegetables on Friday morning, had failed to heed a warning sign on the drive up to the archway.

She said: "When I saw the destruction I thought the driver can't be alive but then I saw him sitting nearby holding his head.

"I thought this man must have a guardian angel, I just don't know how he survived."

Mr Duncan said it could cost more than £25,000 to repair the collapsed listed archway, which was built in 1896.

He said: "It is a miracle that this man escaped relatively unscathed."