Bungling trucker smashes into Grade II listed memorial causing £40k damage...and drives away

This was the moment when a bungling trucker crashed into a Grade II-listed memorial of William Gladstone, and then drove off. Despite causing £40,000, he has been fined less than £250.

The driver collided with the 15ft-tall William Gladstone memorial cross in Lea Marston, Warwickshire, last summer. CCTV footage of the incident shows the moment the cross on the top of the historic monument toppled into the back of the truck after the panicking driver took a wrong turn. 

Tonnes of rubble can be seen crashing into the back of the lorry with such force the HGV rocked on its wheels.

The driver is then seen hurriedly driving away from the scene at around 2pm on August 21 last year.

The sandstone cross was erected in 1905 to commemorate a visit to the village by Gladstone, the prime minister. At the time of the incident baffled police believed the iconic cross had been stolen and possibly dumped in another location.

Warwickshire Police released footage of the bizarre crash after the driver was hauled to court. The driver, from Birmingham, was slapped with seven points on his licence and ordered to pay £246 in costs and fines.

Posting the video on Facebook, the Warwickshire Rural Crime Team said: “The driver mistakenly took a wrong turn onto Church Lane, Lea Marston. “He has attempted a multiple point turn of very low talent. After failing this manoeuvre, he has reversed at speed into the Gladstone Cross Monument, which was a grade II listed structure, with the crosshead of the structure landing in the back of his HGV. 

He has then run over a significant portion of the column causing irreparable damage on his escape from the scene.”

Police were alerted by villagers who noticed the rubble and stone cross topper missing.The lorry was tracked to a company in Redditch, Worcs., and officers spotted the HGV in Birmingham a few days later.

Police were able to identify the driver who damaged the monument after contacting the company director of the haulage firm.The driver was interviewed but did not reveal where the missing cross was located.He was hauled to Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday (5/3).Speaking afterwards, a police spokesperson said: 

“The cross is in the very early stages of consultation to being rebuilt, however due to this being a listed building this is an expensive and elongated process.“Replacing the cross will not bring back the years of history and heritage it previously held within the local community.”