Victoria Avenue was closed because falling flags posed risk to motorists

High winds dislodged several flags and after one driver’s rear windscreen was smashed by falling debris, police decided to close the road so that they could remove the remaining flags.

Acting inspector David Turnbull said that the decision to shut Victoria Avenue during rush hour was not one that had been taken lightly.

‘I was aware of the disruption that would be caused due to the time of morning but I had to weigh this up with the risk presented to the public, which was high.

‘It was fortunate that the earlier incident had not resulted in serious injury to the male driver and I dread to think what would have happened had there been children in the back of the vehicle,’ he said.

A male driver was ‘shocked’ when a flag and metal fitting smashed the rear widow of his car just before 8 am but no one was injured.

Police carried out a risk assessment of the remaining eight flags and decided that there was no option but to close the road.

Crew Commander Daniel Laurens from the States Fire and Rescue service said: ‘It was a joint decision to take down the bunting as it was quite hazardous. The metal ties holding the bunting in place had started to fail on many of the lamp posts, resulting in short lengths of aluminium bar flying around.

‘It was bad timing for the Avenue to be closed at rush hour, but with a high risk of further damage or worse it was the best and safest option. Blue Watch responded with two pumping appliances initially and were joined by a third crew of on-call firefighters as well as a cherry picker from a local company. All worked together to complete the task as quickly as possible.’

It took roughly four hours to remove the flags and the road was then re-opened. Some Islanders reported that the disruption made them late for work by as much as two hours.

Health and Safety officers will be looking into the incident.

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