Residents in a Kent village say that calls to ban car sat-navs in lorries won't protect their village from being damaged by HGVs.

This comes as councillors urge for only specialist navigation devices to be used by lorry drivers.

The Local Government Association (LGA) – which represents councils in England and Wales – are calling on the Government to use its forthcoming Transport Bill to ban standard sat-navs, with HGV drivers only allowed to use specialist devices instead.

Commercial satellite navigation systems designed especially for lorries include information on bridge heights and narrow roads.

They also allow HGV drivers to enter their vehicle dimensions to ensure they are instructed to follow a suitable route.

Cllr David Renard, LGA Transport spokesman, said: “The spate of accidents we continue to see involving lorries blocking streets, damaging local areas and crashing into bridges on an all too regular basis are causing major disruption to local communities.

“There are more lorry journeys than ever, risking more incidents. HGV mileage grew by nearly 9% over the last year and is back above pre-pandemic levels.

“Councils already work with freight and haulage companies to ensure that lorries use the most suitable routes and roads. However, there are a minority of drivers who continue to follow satnav systems that take them down routes that are totally inappropriate for the weight and height of their vehicle.

“By making it mandatory for anyone operating an HGV to use a specialist sat-nav device, the Government can help to reduce the risk of accidents and keep our roads moving.”

One small village in Kent knows the issue all too well.

In May 2019, residents in Goudhurst were tormented with HGVs driving through their village.

One of the main routes in the high street was left completely blocked after a lorry got stuck on bollards.

Church Road is on a hill, and has a sharp corner at its peak – one of the houses on the bend itself has bollards outside to protect it from passing traffic.

Wheels from a lorry ended up getting stuck as it tried drive through the road at around 4.30am.

Antony Harris, chair of Goudhurst Parish Council, said at the time the same road had been blocked twice in one week.

Three years on and Andrei Sasu, bar manager at the Star and Eagle Hotel, has been living in the village since 2016,says nothing has changed.

"It doesn't really matter if they are foreign or English, it's a massive problem," he explained. "Lorries come through here daily, hourly – I see around 20 pass here everyday."

"Cameras and fines are the only solution. You can put signs up, but everyone will just ignore them.

"Drivers have gone into our wall outside so often when they are coming round the corner, that we have given up repairing it and replaced the bricks with a metal pole.

"The lorry drivers don't even stop, they crash into it, reverse and move on. I go outside so many times because I feel bad for inexperienced drivers and I divert traffic.

"I don't think banning car sat-navs will help – how are they going to be able to control them?

"Are they going to stop every lorry and check? They will still use their own private ones, it's simpler and a lot cheaper."

Helen Taylor works at Goudhurst Newsagents, which is also on Church Road.

She said: "Goudhurst needs better signage. The sign on the A21 roundabout has collapsed, or has been knocked down by something.

"The next sign after that is more detailed, but the problem is the lorries have already gone down the road by this point and can't turn back.

"What we need is a big sign of a lorry with a cross through it – something clearly showing that HGVs can't come through."

She added: "I think that banning car sat-navs for lorries could work. But obviously we wouldn't know until it was put in place.

"Something needs to be done because it is a daily issue, the amount of tooting and people getting stuck is a regular thing."

Cllr David Boniface said: "The situation just gets worse year by year.

"There are more large articulated lorries, more of them are 6-axle rather than 5-axle, the government has recently allowed them to be several metres longer, and residents are very unhappy."

Other small villages and rural roads across the county have also been plagued with sat-nav nightmares.

Back in May 2017, a HGV became stuck on train tracks at a level crossing in East Farleigh – it was said that the driver's sat-nav had directed him through the village.

A witness at the scene said: "It was one of the biggest lorries I have ever seen. Small vans like Tesco Home delivery can fit over the bridge but lorries can't."

The lorry, from Romania, eventually turned around and drove towards Tonbridge Road to find an alternative route.

In 2018, a lorry driver got his vehicle wedged on a grass verge along the M2 when he attempted to correct a mistake he had made when confused by his sat-nav.

He was fined £30 and had to pay recovery costs.

When a new Amazon depot opened in Kingsnorth, multiple HGV drivers were stuck down country lanes because their sat-navs were not taking them directly to the depot.

The postcode of the distribution centre was to blame – as truckers found themselves getting sent along rural routes designed more for tractors and cars.

Although UK lorry companies are yet to respond to the proposed plan, Rochester logistics company, R Swain & Sons, commented: "We do give our drivers the opportunity to be equipped with specialist sat-navs that are specifically for the HGV industry.

"They obviously highlight low bridges and roads that are not suitable for larger vehicles. The options are out there, and it is clearly in everyone's best interest to use a sat-nav system suited for a HGV vehicle.

"More and more owners are now using that type of equipment."