Van gets stuck under low bridge and blocks Wigan road

The vehicle ended up wedged at the spot on Prescott Street where the road runs beneath the train line at around midday on Monday.

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As the route narrows to a single lane at that point with traffic lights controlling passage under the bridge that meant the road was totally blocked in both directions.

Network Rail, which maintains the railway infrastructure, hit out, saying bridge strikes were a constant problem for the organisation.

A structural engineer is being dispatched to the site on Monday afternoon but early reports from the scene suggest the bridge has not sustained any serious damage.

One train heading for Manchester Victoria was delayed but the network was allowed to run as normal again at around 12.45pm.

A Network Rail spokesman said: "Drivers need to know the height of their vehicles and not guess.

"This is an entirely avoidable problem."

Network Rail has a campaign, Lorries Can't Limbo, which attempts to reduce the number of incidents of vehicles colliding with railway bridges or getting stuck under them.