Two vans have recently become the 116th and 117th vehicles to strike the Stutney Road bridge in Ely, with the first collision resulting in a disruption of around 75 minutes as the A142 was blocked both ways at Queen Adelaide Way as a van was stuck under the railway bridge.

A mere 30 minutes later, a delivery van was witnesses being backed out of from under the same bridge by police officers.

One person took to Facebook to comment that, “They need some free-swinging signs//bar-at-height before the bridge to give them the bump needed that they are not exempt.”

A second replied: “I’ve been told that they used to, but they were taken down for someone hitting them hard enough to bash them into oncoming traffic”

In yet another separate incident, a driver on his way home stopped to take a phto of a van struggling to get under the bridge. They said, “The ladders on top of their van started scraping against the bridge, so they stopped, then one man got out to help guide the driver through. It barely fit.”

Another questioned how and why people are still hitting the bridge, writing “What is it about fluorescent marking, a sign saying ‘warning very low bridge’, 115 previous railway bridge strikes – all documented in newspapers and online- that people still manage to ignore all notices and warnings and plough on regardless?” even going on to state “The next person should lose their license for careless driving.”

A fourth added: “This has been going on for 48 years since I have lived here, my husband has lived in Ely all his life. Let’s hope the new by pass will sort it out.”

Two vehicles also collided with the bridge in less than a week earlier in the month, with a white van and a Mercedes Sprinter getting stuck in the same spot.

Network Rail say they have spent over £100,000 in the past five years on repairs, with the bridge being crowned the most bashed in the UK despite numerous warning signs.