A rental van company owner has called for a notorious bridge road to be shut after having three vehicles written off within half a year.

Gary Davolls has been left fuming on numerous occasions after people hiring vans from Regal Rentals have ploughed them into a railway bridge in Bryant Road, Strood.

In just six months, three of the company’s vehicles, which cost around £40,000 each, have been left damaged beyond repair.

As a result, the 59-year-old has seen his company insurance shoot up 74% in the last year – something he estimates to be around £100,000.

Most recently, at the end of March, half of one of their yellow vans was left blocking the road for days after confusion between the police and clean up crews on who should clear the mess.

“We’ve had three in six months. What’s changed? I don’t know,” Gary explained.

“It’s devastating to us. As a business our insurance has gone up dramatically. I’d imagine after the latest one they probably won’t insure it. That’s my gut feeling, that they’ll say they can’t cover the cost of it.”

He added: “Nobody wins when this bridge gets hit. Nobody wins. Network Rail don’t win, the council don’t win, the police don’t win, we don’t win. Insurers don’t win. Customers lose because they lose their collision damage waiver.”

Mr Davolls, who is from the Isle of Sheppey, has owned the business, which has more than 30 employees, since 2005 and currently has branches in Chatham, Maidstone, Sittingbourne and the island.

He said two drivers out of the three crashes had “disappeared and done runners” after abandoning the vehicle and they’re still trying to track them down.

The business owner added that the company wouldn’t fix any vehicle which has hit a bridge as they can’t be completely sure it is back to 100% integrity.

He has called for the road, which he described as a “rat run”, to be closed permanently.

“I think people go this way in their cars and then when they get in the van they forget they’re in it and try to use it again and that’s where the damage is caused,” he said.

“There’s other ways to protect that bridge, it’s a problem to the railway company because they have to close the mainline whenever it’s struck and the cost of that gets sent to our insurer.

“There’s physically no way you can’t see the restrictions at the bridge. The people who hit it are likely not concentrating. You don’t have to hit the bridge that hard to do the damage it does.”

Describing the road and bridge as a “nightmare”, Mr Davolls suggested introducing some sort of hanging polls, like at Blackwall Tunnel, to prevent serious damage and crashes occuring at the railway bridge.

“I’d rather they did something like that, or closure the bridge,” he added. “They need to do something. I don’t see how it can be a key road given that our vehicle was left there for two days.”

The railway bridge has been the site of several crashes over the years, including in July 2021 when a white lorry was badly damaged as the driver took it under the bridge near the junction with Gun Lane.

A year later, the same road was blocked after a “loud bang and crashing noise” was heard.

Just months later another driver fell victim to the railway bridge.

Speaking in April, a Medway Council spokesman said: “The council was alerted after a van struck a railway bridge in Bryant Road, Strood, on Sunday, March 30.

“Part of the body of the van was left under the bridge, and cones and barriers were placed around it while arranging for its removal.”

New figures released by Network Rail revealed heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) colliding with bridges caused more than 100 days (150,000 minutes) of delays for rail passengers last year.

From April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, there were 1,532 reported bridge strikes - one every six hours - which cost Britain’s rail industry around £20m in delays, cancellations and repairs.