A bridge in East Cambridgeshire has taken the top spot as Britain's most bashed railway bridge for 2023/24.

Network Rail have named Stuntney Bridge, on Stuntney Road in Ely, as the most struck bridge, with 18 incidents in the space of a year.

It comes after the rail provider found that passenger train services were delayed by the equivalent of more than 100 days in a year due to lorries hitting bridges. 

1,532 bridge strikes were reported in Britain in the year to end of March. They cost an estimated £20 million in delays, cancellations and repairs. 

In second place, the bridge at Stonea Road in Stonea, Cambridgeshire was hit 17 times in a year.

Network Rail confirmed that the number of incidents of lorries hitting bridges across Britain has fallen over the past two years, with 1,864 strikes in 2021/22 and 1,588 strikes in 2022/23.

Martin Frobisher, Network Rail’s group safety and engineering director, said: "Every time a vehicle hits a bridge it can cause serious safety issues for road and rail users.

"To compound matters, these incidents can delay tens of thousands of passengers while we inspect the bridge and repair any damage – creating cost from public funds which should be used upgrading and improving our network.

"We’ve done a lot of work with transport partners to tackle bridge strikes, and it’s encouraging to see this is paying off with a general downward trend in the number of incidents.

"But with a strike every six hours there’s still much to do, and we urge operators and drivers to properly plan their routes, know the height of their vehicles and be vigilant for road signs showing the height of bridges.

"We will report those who don’t to the Traffic Commissioners, and Network Rail always looks to recover the entire repair and delay costs from the driver and the operator."