Road reopens after 'Britain's most bashed' bridge hit

A main road in Leicestershire that closed after a lorry hit a railway bridge - named the most bashed in Britain - has reopened.

Leicestershire Police said the A5 Watling Street bridge in Hinckley was closed on Monday morning, between the junctions of Dodwells roundabout and Nutts Lane. It later reopened at about 12:30 BST.

The force confirmed a lorry had struck the bridge and said no injuries had been reported.

Network Rail figures have shown the bridge was struck 22 times between 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025, giving the structure the dubious honour as the most bashed bridge in the country.

Three years ago, transport body Midlands Connect analysed four occasions when the bridge was hit and found the resulting traffic delays cost the economy an estimated £126,000.

It also calculated the cost to the economy of rail delays for 10 incidents during 2019, affecting nearly 4,000 passengers, to be roughly £43,000.

Midlands Connect said regular collisions at the bridge had caused more than 4,400 hours of road delays each year, adding the real cost of bridge strikes could be significantly higher than the figure calculated.

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