Hampshire fights misguided HGV menace

Hampshire County Council has been forced to erect signs warning HGV drivers to stay out of a narrow lane - despite their satnavs' insistence it's a full-fat link road.

The powers that be acted "after Beacon Hill Lane residents in the village of Exton, near Winchester, complained about HGVs getting stuck", the BBC reports. The byway narrows to a HGV-squeezing 6ft which meant "properties were being damaged by vehicles forced to back out".

Accordingly, the council deployed signs declaring: "No wide vehicles. Do not follow sat nav. Very narrow lane." A council spokeswoman explained: "This is a unique measure for the county and is not something we would normally do."

Hampshire has also "contacted the satellite navigation companies to ask them to take the route off their devices". ®