EXTRA warning signs could be considered to safeguard an historic pub from being hit by lorries.Suffolk County Council officers have visited New Street in Woodbridge, where the steelyard at Ye Olde Bell and Steelyard was damaged when it was hit by a lorry.

EXTRA warning signs could be considered to safeguard an historic pub from being hit by lorries.

Suffolk County Council officers have visited New Street in Woodbridge, where the steelyard at Ye Olde Bell and Steelyard was damaged when it was hit by a lorry.

There are signs in the area warning of a height restriction in the road – but one sign is only 45 yards away and by the time motorists have seen the sign, it can too late for them to avoid going down there.

Angela Rapley, a council traffic engineer, said: "Currently it is signed in accordance with general guidelines, but we will be looking to see if we can make any improvements."

A lorry collided with the overhead wooden steelyard on December 8 and broke one of the main beams.

The pub was built in 1541 and the steelyard was added in the 17th Century. The steelyard is one of only two in the country and the operating mechanism is in the Science Museum in London.

Pub landlord, Glenn Yates, said the repair work had now been completed and added: "It would be nice to have a sign warning of the height restriction and saying it is an historic building."

Stuart Lawson, of Betony Walk, Haverhill, a former landlord of the pub for 10 years, said considerable damage had been caused in 1988 when a large vehicle hit the steelyard.

"I consequently called for the street to be suitably signed to warn drivers of the height restriction and am saddened that this incident has been repeated 15 years later," he added.

"Ye Olde Bell and Steelyard is one of a handful of buildings in Woodbridge to be listed as Grade I and I do hope that the local authorities take heed of this."