'Beggars Belief' How Prison Van Got Stuck Under Bridge
Thursday, 1 December 2011
TWO prisoners being transported from Edenderry court to the Midlands prison in Portlaoise had an unscheduled stop on Monday evening last when the prison van they were travelling in got stuck under a bridge between Edenderry and Rathangan.
The prison service were unable to confirm whether or not this was the usual route the truck used but said the incident is being investigated.
Area engineer with Offaly County Council, Damien Grennan said that 'it beggars belief' how it could have happened. 'The driver would have passed three signs between Edenderry court house and the bridge all advising on height restrictions. The court is held in Edenderry regularly and it is a familiar route,' said Mr Grennan.
However, he did confirm that a sign on the bridge itself advising the height restriction is 2.9 metres was knocked down recently by someone else.
A spokesperson for the prison service said the first the prison officers knew there was something wrong was when they heard scraping along the roof of the vehicle. They stopped the van and released air from the tyres which allowed it to move unhindered. Meanwhile the prisoners were transferred to a relief van to continue on their journey.
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