1 of 2 | Traffic officers with England’s National Highways removed a fairground ride found in a verge along the M180 near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, in November. Photo courtesy of National Highways
Dec. 9 (UPI) — England’s National Highways said the more than 49,000 abandoned objects collected from the country’s roads this year included a boat and a fairground ride.
National Highways said in a news release that more than 49,000 objects were collected from roads managed by the government-owned company from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30 of this year.
The abandoned objects included 9,685 pieces of building or construction materials, 3,575 household or yard-care items and 797 abandoned vehicles.
Items traffic officers found in lanes of traffic included a sofa, a storage container, multiple Christmas trees and bikes.
One of the more unusual items was a boat found atop a damaged trailer on the side of the A42 near Measham, Leicestershire — far from the nearest open water.
“It was a surprise to see something of this size on the side of a slip road, causing a distraction and obstruction to drivers. It’s fortunate it did not cause a serious accident,” Traffic officer Cat Martin said. “You would think someone would be missing their boat, but we were unable to locate the owner and so it made its way to the scrapyard as soon as we could get it safely removed.”
Another out-of-place object was found in November, when an officer discovered a fairground ride in a verge along the M180 near Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.
“These items left on or alongside our roads can put drivers at risk, while retrieving them often leads to a road or lanes being closed, causing an inconvenience to other motorists,” said Marie Biddulph, regional safety program manager for National Highways.
“Our message is simple — dispose of your unwanted items in the correct way and secure your loads properly before you set out on your journey. Following these measures could prevent a collision and avoids unwelcome objects from blighting the environment along our roadsides.”