‘Carnage’ at historic cathedral

An alleged drunk driver demolished a 700-year-old gate at one of England’s signature cathedrals. The wooden gates and surrounding stonework at Salisbury Cathedral, which boasts Britain’s tallest spire and the best preserved copy of the Magna Carta, were smashed by a van on July 2. The damage could take months to repair. Cathedral clerk Gary Price said he was shocked by the extent of the “carnage” at the heritage-listed site, which travel writer Bill Bryson has called the most beautiful structure in England. Price told the Salisbury Journal: “It looked as if a herd of elephants had come crashing through them.”