Bridge danger as lorry hits man

A businessman who ended up in hospital after being struck by the wing mirror of a lorry as he walked over Bewdley Bridge has joined calls for action to prevent further incidents.

Ellis Salsby, aged 51, who runs an event management company, suffered cuts and bruises and a dislocated collar bone in the collision last Friday afternoon.

He said: "The wing mirror struck me on the back of the head and I was somersaulted into the road and knocked against my wife, Angela.

"Fortunately people picked me up and put me by the wall before anything else could happen and the ambulance was called.

"I was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital after the collision at about 3.20pm on Friday.

"The bridge is very dangerous for pedestrians. I was walking on the pavement and my wife was in front of me when this happened.

"It could all have been much more serious. I think that warning signs are needed or highway chiefs need to make the bridge one way only or consider building a footbridge."

Mr Ellis, of Kidderminster, was visiting Bewdley because his offices have had to be temporarily transferred to the town after a blaze ripped through his premises which were behind the Treasury building in Coventry Street, Kidderminster.

Several weeks ago fire ripped through the Treasury and caused damage to other flats, shops and offices in the area.

Councillor Gordon Yarranton, a member of Wyre Forest District Council, has called for one of the pavements over the bridge to be widened and for the other to be scrapped to provide walkers with more space.

He fears that with even more children using the bridge to get to local schools there is a danger of a fatality.

Councillor Yarranton said: "There have been calls for a footbridge to take pedestrians away from the bridge over the River Severn.

"But I would question where the money would come from as Worcestershire County Council is having to make more savings.

"I believe the answer to the problem, especially for mothers with prams, is to scrap one of the pavement and widen the other."

Town councillors have suggested there should be a footbridge built.

By Sue Smith