Herts CC - No Number to Call in an Emergency !

On Tuesday 25th March residents in West Watford's Benskin Road were disturbed by a loud bang. On investigation they discovered that a lamp post had literally just fallen over. No cars were involved and it later transpired a resident had reported the danger of the wobbling concrete light that morning.

Local Lib Dem Activist, Susan Gaszczak a Benskin Road resident, responded to the bang and googled 'Herts Highways Emergency' number to be greeted by the appalling county website. The first hit comes up with a generic number not suitable for an emergency at a time when when school children are walking home past a live electrical fault. The second click gets you to the Highways online reporting system.

Susan said: "It was ridiculous, there was just no emergency number. I needed to get immediate help and I couldn't find a number to report it on. Luckily one of the local Lib Dem County Councillors was in County Hall that day and a phone call to them meant the matter was reported straight away - directly to the directors office. A Highways official arrived within the hour."

She added: "I also tweeted and eventually got a reply but by that time I had resolved the initial issue of getting the live wires cordoned off. There needs to be a number, direct to highways and accessible by googling on the website."

County Councillor, Stephen Giles-Medhurst, Liberal Democrat Group Leader added: "We pointed this out to officers last year, this is why a number is needed. Their response at the time was that we were mad. This proves the point we were not. The Tory run administration should be grateful that no-one was injured, especially as residents had drawn attention to this danger."