In its edition of 14th July, 2022, the Herald reported “Monday’s crash was the 19th major collision at the A325 Wrecclesham bridge since 2014” and “the bridge has been hit around five times a year since the year 2000, according to Network Rail”.

The Herald added: “More than 1,000 people have signed a petition in 24 hours calling for action” and the paper itself had finally lost its cool with the headline ‘SORT IT OUT: NOW’.

The 2022 bridge strike also attracted the interest of the Daily Mail, which reported it was the 102nd bridge strike since 2000 at Wrecclesham.

And over the subsequent weeks the petition mustered a total of 2,758 signatures - roughly equivalent to the entire population of Wrecclesham village. So how did the authorities react?

The following year, it was reported that yet another lorry smashed into the railway bridge just days after work began to paint yellow chevrons onto the structure.

Surrey County Council had ruled out engineering solutions including a new boom across the A325, believing that a good lick of bright, yellow paint would be enough to deter over-height HGVs.

On fairness the new paint job is extraordinarily bright, and there does seem to have been a drop-off in bridge strikes of late. Perhaps Wrecclesham residents could share their views on whether the issue has at last… crossed a bridge (email [email protected])?

There have been many notorious issues in Farnham over the years, including Hickleys Corner, traffic congestion and pedestrianisation - but few have stirred the public’s incredulity and frustration as much as Wrecclesham’s bridge.

This is the latest in a series of articles by Farnham Sports Council chairman David Gill looking back at 50 Farnham Herald headlines to mark 50 years since the dissolution of the Farnham Urban District Council.