Unsuitable for SatNav

In the village of St Hilary, a succession of trusting lorry drivers have followed their satnav down a narrow, bendy lane - only to find they are stuck.

But there's help on the way - and not in the form of a tow truck. Instead, the authorities have put up a sign warning drivers not to believe everything their satellite navigation tells them.

Traffic engineer Mark Simpson, who designed the sign, said: "We've had a series of problems with drivers getting into trouble by trusting their satnav - and we needed to do something about it. I hope my sign should do the trick.

"Satnav can be a wonderful tool for drivers but it does have dangers.Particularly aimed at foreign lorry drivers, who can't read warnings telling them the road is unsuitable for HGVs, his sign shows a satellite flying above a lorry, with a red warning bar through it.

Four have gone up near St Hilary, in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. There, satnav has instructed drivers to use the narrow lane through the village as a short cut between the M4 and Cardiff airport, rather than sending them along the main road.

Mr Simpson, 36, said: "More than a dozen or so heavy trucks have got stuck in lane in the past few months. It has led to huge traffic jams as the lorry drivers try to manoeuvre themselves out of the lane - sometimes taking as long as two hours."