The track where sat nav-following drivers are getting stuck

Drivers are getting stuck in a muddy brook in a tight country lane because sat-nav systems are directing them along the narrow no-through road.

Motorists are having to get their vehicles towed out of the watery quagmire after becoming trapped when they use the short-cut through Claverley, near Bridgnorth, after leaving the notorious “rabbit run” road linking Telford with the Black Country.

The lane leads off from the B4176, near Upper Aston and cuts through to Griffiths Green.

But several drivers have become stranded in the brook when it has become swollen by heavy rain after their sat-navs have pointed the way along the route through the Shropshire countryside.

Some brands of sat-nav calculate the shortest route and advise motorists to proceed in that direction.

Gill Price, clerk of Claverley Parish Council, said: “Although the signs state access only cars are going through and getting stuck at the brook because it is very narrow.”

Driver William Ford, who regularly covers the route on his way to work at a Telford catering firm, added: “If you don’t know the area you have to trust what the sat-nav tells you.

“I’ve avoided using the route but I know some people who are not sure of the geography who still risk it.”

According to villagers, several motorists have been caught out because the brook, which runs across the lane, has risen during the past month. They say because the road is so narrow there is no room for drivers to negotiate their way around the problem.

Cars become stuck and drivers have to call assistance, they added.

Residents have appealed to motorists not to use the short cut through Danford Lane and Shropshire councillor Tina Woodward has promised to investigate the problem.

Glyn Shaw, Shropshire Council’s senior engineer, said: “Danford Lane is signed on both approaches as a no through route. This signage is also repeated along the lane to discourage vehicles from using it.

“Following a visit to the site, we will install more signage on the B4176 end of the lane and a ‘Through Route Impassable in 500 yards’ sign to reinforce the message.”

A spokesman for Bridgnorth police said no incidents had been reported to them recently although it was possible they would not be informed unless emergency services were required.

By Brett Gibbons