Shock as trailer unhitches

The trailer then collided with parked cars, but no-one was in them at the time

The incident took place on the Markethill Road, Tandragee, on Wednesday.

Newry & Armagh DUP Assemblyman William Irwin MLA said the scenario could have been much worse.

He said, “Thankfully there was no one in the cars at the time of the accident or walking on the pavement. Having driven over the trench and also seeing it in the road way it is clear that the shock of this road defect through the tractor unit has caused the trailer to unhitch.”

He said the refilled trench had subsided badly and claimed the sharpness of the bump in the road was the cause of the incident.

“I have raised this issue with Transport NI and have asked that the trench be reinstated and blended to match the road surface on each side to smooth out this sharp bump and hopefully avoid any such instances of this nature in the future,” he said.

“I was speaking to the farmer involved and he is obviously shocked by this accident and it is important that this road defect is addressed as soon as possible given the volume of agricultural traffic on our roads at this time as farmers harvest crops.”

A DfI spokesperson said, “Transport NI inspected the area the day after the incident and considered that the road is in a serviceable condition.”