Narrow escape as Ludlow Town Walls rubble crushes car

Louise Bradley, owner of the blue Ford Fiesta, said she was in the process of moving house to another part of Ludlow when the drama unfolded yesterday.

The 24-year-old had packed up her boxes in staff accommodation at The Compasses pub, where she worked and lived, ready for transporting her belongings across town.

But just hours before she and her friend Rachel Grantham, 22, were due to load up the car, tonnes of rock fell on the vehicle when a stretch of historic town wall gave way.

It meant the pair escaped potentially life-threatening injuries.

Both were left stunned by the incident which happened on Upper Linney, behind St Laurence Church, just before 1am.

Louise said: "We were sat upstairs chatting at about 12.40am and then there was just this massive bang which almost sounded like a gust of wind or something.

"Our friend left and obviously passed my car before ringing to say: 'I think you better have a look at this' so we went outside and the car was just covered in rubble.

"The impact had shunted it forward and I was just in complete shock. We called the police straight away and they were pretty quick to arrive. The car was quite old but we were going to be using it to move house so it's pretty frustrating as it's a complete write-off now. But we were also pretty lucky we weren't using it at the time."

Masilo Mapota, 22, was on his way home from a shift at The Compasses when he spotted the debris.

He said: "I didn't realise what had happened at first because it was so dark but when I shone my phone light around I realised the wall had just caved in and I phoned Louise straight away.

"It is lucky I didn't drive to work that night as I usually park next to her."

And fears remain that a further section of the wall could cave in, including a section directly to the right of the collapsed area which lies above an electricity substation.

Rachel said: "It was lucky it happened at night and not in the day as anybody could have been walking past and then it could have been a whole lot worse."

Louise added: "There is cracking all the way along the wall and the worry now is that more of it will collapse. It all looks as if it could go."

Another nearby resident, who asked not to be named but lives just metres away from the incident, said: "I didn't hear anything last night but I saw all the vans in the morning and the damage is awful. It's lucky it wasn't even worse."

The Ludlow town walls are one of the most complete ancient perimeter defences of any historic town in England. The walls are some 800 years old and a significant visitor attraction in Ludlow.

Rosanna Taylor-Smith, Shropshire councillor for Ludlow north, said: "Whilst repairs are carried out, I hope we can keep access open to the Garden of Rest for all to enjoy, as it is one of the most popular green areas of Ludlow."

Ludlow Town Walls have been subject to a series of collapses in recent years, with repair costs approaching £1 million, which has been jointly-funded by private owners, local councils, English Heritage and the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).