It must have been around 1975 - I was about 12 years old - when I was the cause of a very bizarre accident.
I was out early one evening with some friends who had gone into a local convenience store. I waited outside and while doing so leant casually onto a set of traffic lights controlling a crossroads junction. Suddenly the lights started to move and I watched in absolute horror as they detached themselves at the base of the upright pole and crashed down into the middle of the road blocking the approach to the junction. I stood there in sheer disbelief and shock. Fortunately no vehicles were stationery at the lights when they toppled!
A passer-by, having stopped to see if I was OK, called 999 requesting the police. Traffic had by now starting to build along the road and a number of shoppers from the store had come out to see what all the commotion was. The police having arrived, removed the lights from the road, got the traffic on the move again and escorted a still shaken me home. You can only imagine the expression on my father's face when he opened the door to see me standing there with a police officer who subsequently explained what had happened.
Apparently the incident was caused by the base of the metal pole rusting through, not my superhuman strength. It made for interesting telling though at school next day.
Date: 1975
Sent by: Keith Lovell
Category: The network and street furniture
