Knife threat from foreign driver asked to move lorry

A former police officer says he was threatened by a foreign lorry driver brandishing a knife after raising road safety concerns.

Philip Golding says foreign lorries are blocking the views for motorists turning out of Godinton Lane onto the A20 which has a 60mph speed limit.

He said the number of lorries parking at the junction has increased since last summer, but when he confronted a driver about the road safety, the man threatened to stab him rather than move to a designated lorry park.

Mr Golding said: “Every morning there are five or six lorries parking at the junction with the A20. There’s going to be a fatal accident before too long.

“If drivers are turning out of Godinton Lane they can’t see oncoming traffic – taking their life into their own hands.

“There was an incident a few weeks ago, and I worry about any car turning out of the junction.

“I’ve approached lorry drivers and told them to move, but one threatened me with a knife. They are using land as a toilet, threat- ening myself, my wife and my daughter.”

Mr Golding, who now runs his own pest control business, Pestaway, said he hasn’t reported the knife threats to the police because the lorries drivers leave the country very quickly.

He says the problem has got so bad he has put up a sign in his garden written in Bulgarian to say “my garden is not a toilet”.

He added: “The lorry drivers all have their own Facebook groups which share locations of where they can get away with parking illegally, and unfortunately this is now one of those locations.

“I spent 20 years as a police officer in London, I’ve had enough of pulling people out of the wrecks of cars and then having to knock on doors to give people the message that there loved ones are dead.

“I don’t want Godinton Lane to be the cause of another fatal accident just because of stupid park- ing and driving.”

He said he has reported the issue to Ashford Borough Council, which has extended a policy of clamping lorries in laybys and industrial estates.

The policy is set to be reviewed in March at the next joint transportation board meeting.

Meanwhile Kent County Council is continuing to press ahead with plans for a solution to Operation Stack at the village of Stanford off the M20.

Picture: Paul Amos Phil Golding says there will be an accident if something is not done about the parked lorries; he has up a sign in his garden written in Bulgarian to say ‘my garden is not a toilet’