Sat-nav lorry 'risk' to buildings

Ministers have been urged to curb sat-nav along unsuitable roads

Some drivers' "blind reliance" on satellite navigation devices is putting some of Britain's historic buildings at risk, campaigners claim.

The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) says growing numbers of lorries are directed to roads not designed to take them.

The bridge over Oxfordshire's River Ock and Pevensey Castle in East Sussex, have been damaged by lorries, it said.

A cottage in Greater Manchester has also been damaged, the society added.

The result is thousands of pounds worth of damage to historic structures which have, until recently, stood the test of time Phillip Venning SPAB

Phillip Venning, from SPAB, said: "Blind reliance on satellite navigation is fast becoming a serious issue for old buildings, as motorists are directed to use ancient lanes and narrow country roads that might have posed a problem for horse-drawn carriages.

"The result is thousands of pounds worth of damage to historic structures which have, until recently, stood the test of time."

According to the society, there have been reports of damage to the Roman foundations at Pevensey Castle following an increase in the number of lorries being guided along the B2191 by their satellite navigation technology.

'Stuck in lanes'

Meanwhile, lorries thought to be using sat-nav devices have reportedly struck the ancient railings around Ock Green in Oxfordshire, as well as damaging the bridge at Charney Bassett.

In Ashton-under-Lyne, Greater Manchester, a 300-year-old cottage was damaged when a lorry driver followed his sat-nav down a narrow country lane to escape the A627, SPAB claims.

The organisation's warnings come after ministers were recently urged in the House of Lords to curb the problem of sat-nav systems directing drivers along unsuitable roads.

Crossbencher Viscount Tenby said the "unregulated information" was causing juggernauts to be "stuck in lanes" and "pieces being taken out of buildings".