Car crash carnage sparks safety call (From Worcester News)
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Car crash carnage sparks safety call
11:44am Tuesday 2nd October 2012 in News
Exclusive By Sarah Davies
CRASH: Just some of the damage caused in the crash
A TRAIL of destruction caused by a car crash has seen renewed calls for safety measures on a busy Worcester road.
Residents of Bromwich Road, St John’s, were left picking up the pieces when a car ploughed into a telegraph pole, damaged several vehicles and demolished garden walls just before midnight on Sunday.
Phone lines to 20 homes were also knocked out.
The occupants of the car had a lucky escape, suffering only minor injuries, and one person was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital for further treatment.
The road was closed for four hours while BT engineers removed telephone wires to make the pole safe.
Householders have told the Worcester News the stretch of road near the Lower Wick Trading Estate was an accident blackspot.
One of the affected residents, Robert Orgee, who has lived at his home in Bromwich Road for 48 years, said there had been five crashes into the front of his and the neighbouring property over the past 30 years.
The 74-year-old, whose car, garage and garden wall were damaged, said: “We get used to it now. Some cars come speeding around the corner. We’d like a speed camera or something to slow drivers down. It was a good job nobody was walking down the road.”
Neighbour Garry Tomlins described the road as a “racetrack” at times.
The 49-year-old said: “There was this big bang – the car had hit my van and its back window was inside it. I’ve lived here 27 years and I’ve seen about 10 accidents along here in that time. We had a car sideways in our driveway after it hit a pushbike.
“Speed is an issue – it’s like a racetrack at night. With the amount of accidents, I’m amazed no one has been killed.”
Tracey Davies, who four years ago awoke to find a car on its side in her driveway after it crashed in the same area of Bromwich Road, urged Worcestershire County Council to take action.
She said: “The way me and other neighbours feel is that somebody’s going to get seriously hurt before they do something. The only saving grace is that there was no one around at that time of night.”
Worcestershire County Council confirmed it had received and responded to a number of letters from residents over the summer months and the Safer Roads Partnership was aware of their concerns.
Jon Fraser, Worcestershire County Council's customer and community manager for highways, said: “We are unable to make any detailed comment until we receive the report from the police, but we can confirm that the duty engineer attended the site yesterday to assist at the request of the police.”
Jason Mann, a spokesman for BT, said about 15 homes were affected when engineers had to cut 15 telephone wires because they were hanging in the road.
He added it was likely to be days before lines were reinstated as specialist equipment was needed to replace the damaged pole.
Police were not looking for witnesses as the Worcester News went to press.
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Comments(43)
WAG2315
says...
12:33pm Tue 2 Oct 12
s up in arms etc etc :-)
ali0268
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1:01pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Maggie Would
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1:31pm Tue 2 Oct 12
timevans wrote:5 crashes into a property, rather than confined to the road, is quite a lot actually. Most people expect that it will never happen to them and they would be right!
5 crashes in 30 years. On a busy road thats seen millions of cars passing. Accident blackspot? Really?
alizda174
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1:56pm Tue 2 Oct 12
timevans wrote:5 crashes into two properties (himself & neighbour)
5 crashes in 30 years. On a busy road thats seen millions of cars passing. Accident blackspot? Really?
i've had 4 incidents to my property in 40 years
other neighbours have had incidents to their properties over the last 40 years
Yes - this is over a number of years BUT there should not by ANYWHERE near these amounts of incidents - something is happening at least once a year - a head on collision last year, year before bus crashing into back of car - there are far too many happening
somebody will get killed one day :( that is a sad reality and one we fear is going to have to happen before some safety measures are taken
luckily enough this time we have only the inconvenience of a week without phones (which is a pain considering there is a 89 year old lady living in my house) and also no internet (again a pain with a 15 year old!!) and its a blessing nobody was seriously hurt - but how long until somebody is?
i'm sure my street isn't the only street in worcester where each and every night we have to endure the roar of engines of cars racing each other down the road, even overtaking and doubling up driving up the road - its a very serious problem
alizda174
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2:04pm Tue 2 Oct 12
ali0268 wrote:hhmm! from the point of impact to where the car stopped was the distance of 3 houses - that's all I'm saying on that matter!!
How can a car cause that much damage at 30mph !!!
lost in Worc
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2:14pm Tue 2 Oct 12
ver awareness than the road being actually being an accident balck spot.
I have driven along there many times and until i read this i would have never classed the road one which would be common with accidents!
Again all about poor driving and not the road itself!
Vox populi
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2:17pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Then again the real culprit was probably that traffic island in Whittington as mentioned....
Ashleigh19
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3:31pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Ashleigh19
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3:33pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Samboy
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3:50pm Tue 2 Oct 12
alizda174
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3:50pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Ashleigh19 wrote:ashleigh - all the residents were MORE than relieved that you all came away unscathed and unhurt and I don't believe anyone has called him a thug - from the noise that was created it was scary coming outside to see what we were going to find
Hi , i was the front side passenger of this crash on sunday night. My fiance was NOT exceeding the speed limit. yes he was doin 32mph but not 60mph as some people have made out. the police have already listened to our story and if he was speeding he would have been arresting. the police have already said that if we were doin 40mphthat night with the rain the car would have rolled and we wouldve come away with more than a few bruises. Just to say aswell as we have spoken to worcs news. the reason we lost control was because of a driver speeding towards us with full beams on . my fiance had no choice but to swerve, then by swerving we were heading for a METAL lampost which me , my unborn child and sister wouldve felt the impact, but my partner spun the wheel the other way sending him into impact with the telegraph pole and the residents PRECIOUS walls. just to also say all of us are fine thanks for the concern. i believe something needs to be put in place down that road but we were victims of a speeder not the speeders.
Our walls, cars and property are precious to us all yes as they are all things we have worked hard to pay for and maintain - I understand your frustrations but you must understand ours too
I'm glad you are all OK
Ashleigh19
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4:17pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Ashleigh19
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4:18pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Samboy wrote:Thankyou for understanding. i am so upset that this driver just took off. he obviously knew the wrong he was doing. just hope they can sleep at night knowin none of us were killed
I have always found Bromwich Road to be relatively safe , if for no other reason than the parked cars make you concentrate. Any road is a death trap if some idiot of a driver is let loose. My sympathies go to the people in the crashed car. I am sure I am not the only other driver who has found himself in danger because of speedster with full headlights on.
benthomas22
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8:30pm Tue 2 Oct 12
helenoneil
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9:28pm Tue 2 Oct 12
Ashleigh19
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9:51pm Tue 2 Oct 12
benthomas22 wrote:thankyou so much for your comment. its right what you say. people need to realise that maybe that couldve been one of there family members and im sure they wouldnt be sayin the same things. Thankfully were all ok and my babys heartbeat is all good and wriggling around :)... your right also about his tryin to advert the scenario. i would say Protect more but im just glad were all ok .
I cannot believe that people are banging on about there walls, insurance will sort that out for goodness sake there replaceable human lives are not all the guy did was everything in his power to avert a catastrophe their parents could be organising funerals right now thank God no one was walking along the paths and none of the occupants were fatalities give them a break you dont know the story except those that were involved
Ashleigh19
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9:53pm Tue 2 Oct 12
helenoneil wrote:too true. people seem to think we were hitting 60 to 70mph where weve explained none of us would have survived and we would have probably ended up in someones living room. he may not of been doin 30 but 32 isnt much difference. im sure most people do 2mph over sometimes
I'm sorry but my car hit a brick wall at less than 30mph several years ago and my car looked pretty similar to that a right off I fail to see certain peoples point here.if you hit a wall at any speed surely it would do a load of damage
BadgerMash
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9:19am Wed 3 Oct 12
Guy66
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10:24am Wed 3 Oct 12
BadgerMash wrote:Just carry on slowing down and down and down - try pointing at things through the window. Have fun winding up the idiot behind you.....
I use this road regularly and stick to the speed limit. I am very regularly deliberatly "tailgated" - sometimes with a vehicle inches from the rear of mine.When will West Mercia Constabulary begin to do something about this dangerous and criminal act? (Threatening behaviour with a deadly weapon.)
Glad all came out the the event unhurt though.... Any cctv near - could the police try to id the car with full beam on?
Ashleigh19
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11:38am Wed 3 Oct 12
Guy66 wrote:unfortuneatly i think the nearest cctv was at bp garage :(
BadgerMash wrote: I use this road regularly and stick to the speed limit. I am very regularly deliberatly "tailgated" - sometimes with a vehicle inches from the rear of mine.When will West Mercia Constabulary begin to do something about this dangerous and criminal act? (Threatening behaviour with a deadly weapon.)Just carry on slowing down and down and down - try pointing at things through the window. Have fun winding up the idiot behind you..... Glad all came out the the event unhurt though.... Any cctv near - could the police try to id the car with full beam on?
mr_wilson15
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1:36pm Wed 3 Oct 12
Ashleigh19 wrote:err yeah, but they can still identify the vehicle with the full beam ... just state the time the accident happened and rewind about 2 minutes?
Guy66 wrote:unfortuneatly i think the nearest cctv was at bp garage :(
BadgerMash wrote: I use this road regularly and stick to the speed limit. I am very regularly deliberatly "tailgated" - sometimes with a vehicle inches from the rear of mine.When will West Mercia Constabulary begin to do something about this dangerous and criminal act? (Threatening behaviour with a deadly weapon.)Just carry on slowing down and down and down - try pointing at things through the window. Have fun winding up the idiot behind you..... Glad all came out the the event unhurt though.... Any cctv near - could the police try to id the car with full beam on?
Biggles
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2:21pm Wed 3 Oct 12
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Drive my 5 series, or ride my fairly large motorbike at 30 mph, and nobody bothers you.
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Drive my wifes smart car, or ride my sons small motorcycle, and suddenly you don't matter, you're there to be abused .... almost.
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This I find, is very much a UK issue.
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I'm absolutely no fan of the "speed kills" brigade, quite the opposite in fact, but I struggle to explain why road users are so agressive in this country (including cyclists).
Biggles
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2:21pm Wed 3 Oct 12
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Drive my 5 series, or ride my fairly large motorbike at 30 mph, and nobody bothers you.
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Drive my wifes smart car, or ride my sons small motorcycle, and suddenly you don't matter, you're there to be abused .... almost.
.
This I find, is very much a UK issue.
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I'm absolutely no fan of the "speed kills" brigade, quite the opposite in fact, but I struggle to explain why road users are so agressive in this country (including cyclists).
shewshew
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8:40pm Wed 3 Oct 12
Bodger&Badger
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11:41pm Thu 4 Oct 12
Quick query, was the vehicle with the full beam on travelling on the wrong side of the road, as it would seem strange that your vehicle would need to swerve. I'm not overly familiar with the location where the collision occured, was this near the bend by the Cinderella Works, or was it further into Worcester itself.
ali0268 - it is perfectly plausible for a car weighing circa 1500kg travelling at 32mph (as stated) to cause that much damage and progress that far along against a stationary wall weighing circa 100Kg (this is heavy i suspect not an expert on brick weights).
It seems to be basic physics, two principles momentum transfer and for the more advanced its a transfer of Potential energy to Kinetic Energy.
This type of damage could be caused at lower speeds as well, depending on the strength of the wall. If the car had looked less damaged then the occupents could of been more seriously injured, as the damage to vehicles is an energy dissipation rather than the energy transfer occurring to the vehicle occupents.
I suggest you google car crash tests, compare modern vehicles with those of the 1980's. it will explain how damaged vehicles look,thus explaining some of the safety features of modern cars.
MJI
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10:53am Fri 5 Oct 12
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Bromwich road in itself is not dangerous, been along it enough, it sounds like it is being used by some very inconsiderate people.
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That lads speed at 32 is not fast, it is not the reason they crashed. To me it sounds like the other car was cutting a corner, or something like that.
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Finally glare and dazzling is now getting a lot worse. LED rear light flicker and pulse, so the lights seem to float in mid air, and those very bright LED front lights are simply dangerous as they are designed by EU law to be brighter than headlamps on dip and to dazzle.
DEMRICS
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2:09pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Ashleigh19
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5:08pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Lifesaver fiance saved my life. We have given our names, where we live and our photo because we know that we were completely in the law at all times. People say we were speeding. the police wouldve arrested my partner that night.
Biggles
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9:07pm Fri 5 Oct 12
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I know this is too late for the incident you have already suffered, but after being accused of involvement in a road traffic accident that didn't actually occur, one of those "insurance scams", and the nine months of grief I suffered sorting that out, I now have a Roadhawk camera in my car.
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This camera mounts very descretely in front of my rear view mirror (viewed from the bonnet), it measures and records my speed (gsp), as well as overlaying my postion onto google earth, measures the g forces on the camera, thus the car, as well as full video (including night time).
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It is in my car at all times.
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A lot of fleets are using these now, partially to protect against bogus insurance claims, and partially to monitor their drivers behaviour.
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I think they are very good, and after what has happened to you, you may think so too.
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Google "roadhawk" for more details, demo videos , etc.
Biggles
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9:11pm Fri 5 Oct 12
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I'd also like to point out, that this and other such cameras can convict you, as well as prove your innocence, so it also acts as an "attitude adjuster", as everything you do with that vehicle will be recorded !
jovialcommonsense
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8:11am Sat 6 Oct 12
DEMRICS wrote:You want the police to enforce dangerous driving and speeding??? ;)
It is about time the Police started to pull their finger out and enforce dangerous driving and excessive speeding. Not only would roads be much safer, many accidents would not occur.
Ashleigh19
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11:04am Sat 6 Oct 12
Biggles wrote:we were thinking of gettin one similar, but he only had the car for 6weeks and we never thought something like that was goin to happen. i hope u have read my story to see what happend. it was in the worcs news yesterday
Just to add, I have no connection with the company, I'm just a satisfied customer. . I'd also like to point out, that this and other such cameras can convict you, as well as prove your innocence, so it also acts as an "attitude adjuster", as everything you do with that vehicle will be recorded !
Ashleigh19
says...
11:05am Sat 6 Oct 12
jovialcommonsense wrote:whats that supposed to mean ?
DEMRICS wrote: It is about time the Police started to pull their finger out and enforce dangerous driving and excessive speeding. Not only would roads be much safer, many accidents would not occur.You want the police to enforce dangerous driving and speeding??? ;)
jovialcommonsense
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5:51pm Sat 6 Oct 12
Ashleigh19 wrote:I was amused by DEMRICS turn of phrase. It appears to support the police in forcing everyone to drive dangerously and at high speed, rather than the police enforcing the law to stop those things happening.
jovialcommonsense wrote:whats that supposed to mean ?
DEMRICS wrote: It is about time the Police started to pull their finger out and enforce dangerous driving and excessive speeding. Not only would roads be much safer, many accidents would not occur.You want the police to enforce dangerous driving and speeding??? ;)
As for your accident, those who were not there cannot and should not judge.
Take heart from what you know and ignore the comments of those who were not there.
Ashleigh19
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6:33pm Sun 7 Oct 12
TheIndependentPolitiAgreed !
cian wrote:
Perhaps the time has come to fit speed limiters on all vehicles except emergency and priority vehicles
Biggles
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6:35pm Sun 7 Oct 12
TheIndependentPolitiI wouldn't want this, although it is difficult to argue against, if you want just speed limit obedience.
cian wrote:
Perhaps the time has come to fit speed limiters on all vehicles except emergency and priority vehicles
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It of course requires a gps link, otherwise vehicles would be limited to 70 mph + whatever tolerence.
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Although sort of possible now (the present GPS technology isn't really good enough, my sat nav often gets confused as to what the speed limit is, particularly so at junctions, and with loss of sat comms, it is much more likely to be thought about, when the euro sats are finished, as their "sort of aim" is charging per mile for road use ......... which is a very bad idea.
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I'm actually unconvinced that speed limit complience is the answer, I think we need an attitude change, and the realisation that we are all the same group of people, rather than sub groups, peds, cyclists, bikers, drivers etc.
Biggles
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7:39pm Sun 7 Oct 12
TheIndependentPolitiNo idea .... do you know ?
cian wrote:
The problem is vested interests. How many MP's have business connections with car companies?
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Anyway, Mr limiter type, mine is already limited, it's limited to 155 mph lol.
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And no, I've no idea why they bother either.
pronstar
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12:53am Mon 8 Oct 12
MJI
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1:28pm Mon 8 Oct 12
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Take a post test driving course, doesn't need to be IAM. There are others.
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You can learn a lot in a day, and they do not sit there preaching.
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You learn the little things you do not learn while learning to drive.
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Could make the difference if it happened again between getting out of the way and crashing.
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Biggles camera is good as well, he has clips on Youtube.
Switched on
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7:13pm Mon 8 Oct 12
Ashleigh19 wrote:"My sister was the oncoming car those silly kids are trying to blame! HERO?? I do not think so! She was driving home after work when the stupid boy wasn't concentrating and swerved on to her side of the road the sharply turned the opposite way and lost control because of the stupid speed he was doing! Putting people's lives at risk! And to add, his pregnant girlfriend wasn't wearing a seatbelt so was thrown into the back! So as for a hero grin my eyes he's a stupid immature inexperienced driver! My sister even stopped to help and stopped a passing ambulance! When he got out the car he was repeatedly saying its my fault it's my fault! Lies don't get u anywhere in life and by looking at all the other comments its pretty obvious people know u were speeding! I'm sorry but if full beams were on it certainly wouldn't blind you but good excuse and try! Your all lucky to be alive! But the superhero part I find hilarious you should try pathetic and stupid I think that would be more suited! Owning up would be a start to stop making yourself look a complete idiot!"
Samboy wrote:Thankyou for understanding. i am so upset that this driver just took off. he obviously knew the wrong he was doing. just hope they can sleep at night knowin none of us were killed
I have always found Bromwich Road to be relatively safe , if for no other reason than the parked cars make you concentrate. Any road is a death trap if some idiot of a driver is let loose. My sympathies go to the people in the crashed car. I am sure I am not the only other driver who has found himself in danger because of speedster with full headlights on.
ideas4all
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3:01am Tue 9 Oct 12
MJI
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11:05am Tue 9 Oct 12
ideas4all wrote:I like his comments, he is not wasting my time.
Biggles unless u got something constructive to say don't bother making any comments u never make any sense so please stop wasting everyone s time
timevans says...
12:31pm Tue 2 Oct 12