Driver has lucky escape after fish lorry overturns in field

Driver has lucky escape after fish lorry overturns in field

1 February 2012 - by DAVID TELFORD

THE driver of an articulated lorry had a lucky escape last week when his vehicle toppled over into a field off the Comber Road near Killyleagh.

The vehicle dumped tonnes of mackerel into a field belonging to farmer Gordon Flinn when it overturned last Wednesday afternoon.

Mr. Flinn, who described the image which greeted him as “like something out of the Bible,” said his main concern was for the safety of the lorry driver.

The 71 year-old said he could not believe his eyes when he arrived at the field after driving from his home near Derryboy.

“Approaching the field I could see the fish gleaming in the sunlight and the closer I got to the scene the whole thing became very surreal. Part of the field looked like a mirror as the sun reflected off the fish.

“Mackerel had been scattered over a wide area, with some of the fish lying in a pile which was two and a half feet deep in places,” explained the farmer.

Mr. Flinn said his main concern was for the driver of the lorry and revealed that 90 minutes after the crash, he returned with an army of helpers to remove the fish from the field.

“I was also very curious why the accident happened,” the farmer continued. “It seems the fish should have been landed in Ardglass but bad weather forced the trawler skipper to head for Bangor.

“It appears the lorry was on its way to Ardglass when the accident happened. The wheels of the vehicle appear to have got stuck in the verge and the track they made got deeper and deeper before the lorry toppled over.”

Mr. Flinn said the operation to remove the fish started at 6.30pm and continued until 2am the following morning.

“Floodlights were positioned to help those involved in removing the fish to see what they were doing. A digger was used to load the fish into trailers,” said the farmer.

Mr. Flinn suggested it was fortunate the field the lorry toppled into was not ploughed or had anything planted in it because the clean-up operation would not have been as straightforward.

The farmer added: “My main concern was that the driver was okay. There have been a number of accidents along different parts of the Comber Road over the years and the main priority now will be to repair the area where the lorry went through the hedge.”

Rowallane councillor Terry Andrews said he was relieved the driver of the lorry wasn’t seriously injured in last week’s accident.

He added: “There have been a number of accidents along this particular road and we have to be thankful there were no serious injuries on this occasion.

“I hope the necessary repairs at the side of the road where the lorry toppled into the field can be completed as quickly as possible as this is a road which carries a very high volume of traffic.”