A CAR has been crushed by an articulated lorry in a notorious West Wickham trucking hot-spot.

Restaurant owner Marino Voutsas says he repeatedly warned the council it was only a matter of time before a lorry got stuck in narrow Red Lodge Road. 

The 49-year-old, who owns Prima Donnas restaurant, says signage is inadequate, meaning lorries only become aware of width restrictions when it's too late and begin reversing up the road.

He said: "They go up to the sign saying there are road restrictions for big vehicles ahead and then they start reversing.

"It keeps happening, and I've said before that one of these days it will cause a really serious accident.

"The beep beep beep of reversing is all we ever hear, something needs to be done about it."

Mr Voutsas, who is originally from Greece, said: "I saw the lorry reversing and I thought 'look another one'.

"I could see the car behind and I was like 'this is it'.

"It crushed the passenger side of the car, there was a driver in the car but no one on the passenger side.

"This could happen at any time to anyone.

"If you are a bike, scooter or bicycle and the lorry driver does not see him he will run him over and he will kill him."

He added: "When I send my letters to the council about various suggestions I don't get a reaction."

Councillor Colin Smith, portfolio holder for the enivronment, said: "It's difficult to know quite what more the council can do than continue to provide adequate signage when dealing with inattentive HGV drivers who continue to ignore them whilst blindly following their Sat-Navs.

"Precisely the same thing happens with monotonous regularity on Hayes Lane adjacent to Ravensbourne School, as well as in the borough’s narrow country lanes.

"Although by no means confined to only British vehicles, this is a subject which the Road Haulage Association need to take far more seriously than they have been doing to date."