News Boat crashes into bus shelter in Newbiggin

Boat crashes into bus shelter in Newbiggin

http://newbiggin.journallive.co.uk/2010/06/boat-crashes-into-bus-shelter.html


Boat crashes into bus shelter in Newbiggin
Posted by The Journal on Jun 17, 10 04:44 PM in News
A pub landlady has told of the bizarre moment when she looked out of the window of her flat and saw a fishing boat careering down the main street.
Carol Dawson couldn't believe her eyes when she saw the vessel 'sailing' along the main road in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

Amazingly, it missed colliding with cars parked on either side of the road before hitting a bus shelter and coming to a halt.

The 14ft fibreglass boat was on the back of a trailer which had become detached from the car which was towing it in the coastal village on Tuesday night.

A group of men in three vehicles tried to straighten a bent supporting pole in the shelter before re-attaching the boat and trailer to a car and heading off for the nearby beach.

Carol, who is licensee of the Cresswell Arms in Newbiggin's High Street, contacted police who came out and spoke to those involved in the incident.

She was sitting at her computer in the pub's upstairs flat at about 9.50pm when she heard a noise which sounded like a car overturning.

Carol went on: "I looked out and saw this boat going along the street on the back of a trailer, which had obviously come loose from a car, and banging on the road.

"I think it must have been tied to the car with a bit of string which snapped. I couldn't believe it because it just looked so unreal to see a boat sailing along the street on its own. It then hit the bus stop and the pole must have moved about eight inches to a foot because of the impact.
"I phoned the police because the bus shelter was unsafe. The whole thing was unreal and my husband Jimmy and I wondered if we were seeing things. We had a laugh but if there had been anyone in the bus shelter they would have been squashed."

A Northumbria Police spokesman said it appeared the incident had happened while the vehicle, trailer and boat were reversing near Church Point.

"Officers attended and there was no lasting damage to the bus shelter," he added.
Have you got a picture of the runaway boat? Contact the Newsdesk on (0191) 201 6446