There have been calls for better warning signs to be installed on the approach to the bridge on Broughton Hall Road after two vans and a lorry crashed into the notoriously low bridge within days of each other.

The latest incident involved a lorry which hit the bridge on Tuesday (April 7), forcing a two-hour road closure.

Last Wednesday, April 1, the road was shut for almost four hours following a crash which left a Ford Iveco roofless.

A man was taken to hospital after crashing his van into a low bridge in Broughton, taking off part of the roof

The bridge, on the B5125 spur road which crosses the A55, has a height limit of 7ft 9ins and has fooled many motorists over the years.

In January, a delivery van was badly damaged after hitting the top of the bridge, while on Christmas Day 2012, an ambulance crashed into the structure as it was heading to the Countess of Chester Hospital, injuring patient Peter Davies and the paramedic.

Flintshire Cllr Derek Butler says there have been accidents at the bridge since it was built. Over the years he has seen two ambulances damaged, along with a frozen chicken lorry and numerous caravans and mobile homes.

Cllr Butler said: “That route is one of the main ones out of the village and unfortunately the bridge has a long history of vehicles ramming into it.

“It is bizarre that in this age of GPS, vehicles like ambulances still don’t recognise the height restriction.

“The crash on Wednesday was the worst and the first time I’ve seen any vehicle manage to come out the other end.”

He says he is amazed the old warning signs which flashed if an over-height vehicle passed them, were taken away.

“They were eventually replaced by other signs just before the bridge, which quite frankly are not good enough, as you can see by the number of crashes. Our concern is that this vehicle has gone all the way through – what would’ve happened if a pedestrian had been walking through at the same time?

“We would call on the council to bring back the old flashing warning signs, or a modern version of them. It’s the only way to stop this happening.”

Flintshire council transport chief Steve Jones said: “The council would ask motorists to take notice of the new warning signs which were introduced in November 2014 following a number of collisions with the bridge over the previous three years.

“The new scheme included five new advance warning signs and two warning signs attached to the structure itself.”