A motorist has described accidently driving into the St Ives car trap as “an extremely frightening experience”.  

Philippa Parker, from Wiltshire, was trying to leave the town after a day out when she got confused exiting a car park. 

She was looking for signs to Cambridge – but didn’t see the warnings for the Guided Busway and drove into the trap at Station Road. 

Her experience last summer 2022 echoes that of a driver who was one of three to drive into the car trap in one day last month.  

Mrs Parker wrote to Cambridgeshire County Council about the incident. 

In her letter, she said: “It was an extremely frightening experience and lucky that no-one was seriously hurt, there were four of us in the car... 

“I believe it is a horribly dangerous and unnecessary method of stopping cars.” 

Mrs Parker admits to her mistake.  

But she also claims the signage was “totally inadequate”, there were no warnings or markings around the trap at the time and it was full of weeds and “invisible to the naked eye from a car”. 

As she was driving an electric vehicle, the underside was protected from the drop.  

But it still caused a dent in the suspension arm, blew a front tyre and they had to wait four hours for the car to be towed.  

In that time, Mrs Parker said “at least 30 other cars came along and had to do three point turns” because the route “looks like a normal road out of St Ives” until the last 25 metres. 

Responding to her letter, Cllr Kevin Reynolds, described the car trap as a “road safety measure” and the “regrettable incident is entirely self inflicted”.  

Cambridgeshire County Council’s reply explained the signage “meets the defined standards and regulation” and “this is augmented using road markings ahead of the junction itself”.  

Meanwhile, Jonathan Djanogly, the MP for Huntingdon, says constituents can contact him if they have concerns about the St Ives car trap.