Officers let their air down as prison van gets banged up under bridge

PRISON officers and gardaí had to let down the tyres of a van with two prisoners which got stuck under a narrow bridge in Co Offaly yesterday.

The van was returning via the Edenderry to Rathangan road to the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise.

The Prison Service and Offaly County Council are conducting an investigation into the incident.

Business people, mothers collecting children and people returning from work were forced to find alternative routes as the road was impassable for almost an hour.

There is one road sign indicating the 2.8-metre height restriction for traffic turning from a bad bend onto the Rathangan road, but it was facing the wrong way yesterday afternoon and would not have been visible to the prison escort staff coming from the prison.

There are no further signs on the 2.5km stretch of road from Edenderry and there are none on the aqueduct itself.

However, on the Rathangan approach there is a sign on the aqueduct and one 200m away.

Charlie McCarthy, senior engineer with Offaly County Council, said there should have been adequate signage in place, but if it had been tampered with or removed, the council would correct it.

He said the area engineer had been asked to investigate.

The Prison Service said the incident was being investigated by the governor of the Prison Service Escort Corps based in Cloverhill.

It is not known which of the six or so prisoners at Edenderry District Court were in the vehicle.