Lorry drivers 'betting on who can damage planters'
LORRY drivers have been taking bets on who could knock over Smith Street's traffic calming planters to get them removed, a St Peter Port official has claimed.
But constable Dennis Le Moignan said it would not be beaten and that damaged planters, some bearing tyre marks, would be repaired and put back.
The wooden boxes were installed last month to stop vehicles speeding down the road but they have been battered. Tyre marks had been found on the edges of the boxes and some corners had been set alight.
'It is just appalling,' Mr Le Moignan said.
'It does make me angry because we are trying to make it safer for people and some of the drivers do go up and down the road too fast.
'To hear that drivers were taking bets is just not the behaviour anybody expects and it is just a form of vandalism – there is no excuse.'
The constables drew up the scheme, with the two planters on either side of the road.
The project had been done in conjunction with the police and States Traffic Services, as well as the other emergency services, to ensure large vehicles such as fire engines could still get down the road. Reflective strips had been placed on the boxes to make them more visible at night and they had been painted blue so they could be spotted during the day.
Mr Le Moignan stressed that they would be going back once fully repaired and police would also be keeping an eye on the area.
