Police partially closed Paradise Road, in Stoke, after a private hire taxi crashed into a lamp post(Image: William Telford)

Plymouth taxi smashes into lamp post

Dramatic pictures show damage

by · PlymouthLive

A busy Plymouth road was partially blocked after a taxi crashed into a lamp post. Police were called to Paradise Road, in Stoke, before 8am today after a grey Toyota hybrid private hire vehicle smashed into a lamp post outside City College Plymouth.

No one was injured in the incident and no other vehicles were involved. The car, carrying Need-A-Cab branding, suffered major damage to its front left side.

The airbags had deployed and the car’s horn was permanently sounding. There was debris scattered on the road and the lamp post was also damaged, particularly at its root.

Damage caused to a private hire taxi and a lamp post after the crash in Paradise Road, Stoke(Image: William Telford)

Police, however, did not have to close the road, diverting motorists around the crashed vehicle, and expected it to be cleared by 10am. A recovery vehicle arrived to remove the taxi at about 9.20am.

The crash happened just outside an area earmarked for a possible 20mph zone. Part of Paradise Road is included in an ambitious scheme which could see 20 speed cameras installed in an area containing 98 Stoke and Stonehouse streets.

In July, the council began a consultation on bringing in the 20mph scheme , covering a huge area of Stoke and north Stonehouse bordered by Saltash Road, Western Approach and Union Street to as far as Stonehouse Bridge, and the main railway line from Cornwall to the station. The council said it would cost about £155,000 to install the cameras in streets chosen because there had been safety concerns.

Debris on the road and pavement after a taxi smashed into a lamp post in Paradise Road, outside City College Plymouth(Image: William Telford)

The Labour-run council has stressed it is not a money-making scheme, with any cash from fines going to the Government. It said the proposals aim to reduce speed on the approach to a proposed crossing in Eldad Hill, where there have been requests for 20mph limits due to the high speeds, the volume of traffic and narrow footpath.

Many residents backed the proposals, but it was also criticised by opposition Conservative councillors and a petition on the website change.org gained 1,989 signatures.

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