Truckstop owner fights DOT U-turn
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by Nicky Clarke • A Cambridgeshire truckstop owner has welded himself into his roadside cafe in protest against the Department of Transport's withdrawl of its offer of a new site after attempting to shut his cafe in a row about road safety The Department of Transport has filled in the Guyhirn lay-by on the A47 with tonnes of earth and rubble—blocking vehicle movement in and out of the layby and thus ruining the livelihoods of Peter and Jenny Hawes.
Peter Hawes, 49, sealed himself into his cafe last Tuesday armed with a month's supply of food. "My husband will stay there for as long as it takes to sort this mess out," says wife Jenny She has appealed to Prime Minister John Major to intervene.
Jenny, 47, says the DOT wanted to fill in the lay-by because it claims the site is an accident blackspot. "I've got the official figures and they say there have been 13 accidents in the vicinity over the past six years and that six of them were caused by turning movements in or out of the layby."
According to Jenny Hawes, the DOT said her cafe could be moved to a new site 4km nearer Wisbech at Easter. But the Department has since changed its mind and withdrawn the offer.
"We had mostly truck drivers stop here it was one of the favourite spots for truckers," says Jenny. She says the truckstop served around 60 breakfasts to HGV drivers every day.