Questions have been raised over a set of bollards following a crash involving a bus earlier this week.

After the collision, people reported it wasn’t the first time it happened, while another set of bollards also broke down on Tuesday.

Pictures from Monday showed a Carousel bus stranded in Clarendon Road in Watford town centre after a bollard which lowers into the ground came back up while the bus was still passing through.

Watford Observer:

The bus needed to be recovered

The incident injured both the driver and passenger. The passenger, a woman, banged her head, before falling to the floor of the bus, suffering cuts above her eye. She was taken to hospital.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Watford Observer:

One of the bollards was not there the following morning 

A worker in Clarendon Road said it is not the first time an incident like this has happened.

He said: “Last week, I saw another driver lifted by the bollards, as well as what happened on Monday. They haven’t been up long and already one black post has been cracked in half, one bollard is completely broken, and another one has red gaffer tape wrapped around where it has been smashed.

“It is a combination of people tailgating or the barrier not working. On Tuesday evening while it was snowing, the bollards broke and buses were just stacking up.

“The issue here is if a driver sees a green light they will go especially if they don’t know the area well. There needs to be some sort of gate in front to prevent drivers following. I guarantee there will be a fourth incident before the end of this month.”

Watford Observer:

This was the scene on Tuesday where a witness said the bollards weren't working and buses were queueing.

On social media, some readers even called for the bollards to be removed.

The bollards at the other end of the high street were hit by a power failure on Tuesday morning, Watford Borough Council has confirmed.

The bollards were installed as part of the £2m high street transformation. There are signs in place which say ‘one vehicle only may proceed’.

Watford Observer:

The sign does explain drivers should only proceed one at a time and always check the bollards are lowered.

Mayor of Watford Peter Taylor said: “The bollards have already significantly reduced the number of cars using the town centre as a cut through which means it is now a much safer and more pleasant environment for pedestrians and cyclists. We’ve had really positive feedback from residents about these changes.

“The very small number of people who are tailgating buses to get past the bollards are acting illegal and extremely dangerously. Not only will they damage their own vehicle and potentially injure themselves, they can also be prosecuted by the police.”

Phil Southall, Carousel Buses managing director said: “We are currently investigating the cause of the incident, which includes examining our on-board CCTV.

“There was one passenger on-board at the time of the incident and along with the driver they were both taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers and fellow road users.”