Car now being used as security block in Broadgate

A CAR is now being used as a solution to keep shoppers safe in Coventry city centre.

Security bollards at the entrance to Broadgate are currently broken and vehicles are instead being used by the city council to block access to the pedestrianised area.

The existing rise-and-fall bollards at the Trinity Street entrance of Broadgate were damaged beyond repair in early July and, since then, Coventry City Council have turned to unconventional measures to keep the entrance secure.

Up until recently a silver van was being used to block vehicular access - but now a Toyota Prius is taking centre stage.

The decision to use a van and now a car was made by Coventry City Council as bosses wanted something that could be moved to allow delivery and security access.

A Coventry City Council spokesperson previously said: “We are getting the rise and fall bollards replaced in the next couple of months, though there is no timeline for this.

“We’ve been looking for a robust, moveable solution, because protecting the public is our priority.”

It is believed the bollards, which are used to prevent unauthorised vehicles from driving onto Broadgate from Trinity Street, were damaged during the RAF centenary celebrations, in early July.

A special three day event took place in the city centre between July 6 and 8, which saw a BAE Systems Hawk placed on static display on Broadgate. It is not known how the damage was caused, or who caused it, but it was severe enough that the automatic rising bollards were removed, and the holes were filled in.

Since Broadgate was pedestrianised, vehicles are no longer able to drive anywhere near the Godiva statue, with just a few exceptions.

Delivery and loading vehicles, emergency services access, and more recently, construction vehicles at the new Cathedral Lanes restaurants are the only expections.

And to allow these vehicles, but not any others, rise and fall bollards were installed at the entrance to Broadgate and at Trinity Street.

It is believed that these were brought in in 2016 to restrict traffic and keep the pedestrians on Broadgate safe.