MARCH town centre was brought to a shuddering halt this morning when a haulage lorry broke down close to the Fountain. A lorry from haulage company Wincanton was turning from Station Road into Broad Street, when its airbrake line broke. The lorry was left

MARCH town centre was brought to a shuddering halt this morning when a haulage lorry broke down close to the Fountain.

A lorry from haulage company Wincanton was turning from Station Road into Broad Street, when its airbrake line broke.

The lorry was left stranded at the junction for more than an hour while a new airline was ordered and fitted.

The driver of the lorry, Joe Dimmock, sat in his cab and enjoyed a cup of tea while he waited for the new airline to be delivered from a Scania dealership near Ely.

Mr Dimmock, from Doncaster, described the incident as "just one of those things".

He said: "I had only been to Buildbase (in Station Road) and was heading back to Hemingford Abbots.

"The airline got caught on the trailer and broke. When that happens, the brakes just lock and that's it - you're not going anywhere."

If he made the corner Mr Dimmock would have been heading for March Town Bridge, which has a seven-and-a-half-tonne weight limit restriction.

Mr Dimmock said he did not see any signs along Station Road telling lorry drivers to avoid the bridge.

Mr Dimmock said: "If I knew there was a bridge, I would have gone straight on."

A Cambridgeshire County Council spokesman said Mr Dimmock missed a sign outside the Coachmakers Arms pub, in Station Road.

He said: "We realise that drivers do miss signs but, at the end of the day, it was a mechanical malfunction that saw his lorry come to a halt."

Police closed Station Road to traffic at its junctions with Norwood Avenue and St John's Road, and diverted traffic from Broad Street into Dartford Road, Darthill Road and Robingoodfellow's Lane.