Bless you! Taxi driver seeks forgiveness after damaging ancient Grade II …

Posted on by Listify Me

By
Eddie Wrenn


PUBLISHED:

10:34 GMT, 6 April 2012

|

UPDATED:

10:36 GMT, 6 April 2012

It was just a sneeze – but it ended up nearly destroying a 500-year-old monument.

Taxi driver Mati Levy, 42, was driving through
Cheddar, in Somerset, at about 25mph in his VW Transporter when his nose started tickling.

The explosive sneeze caused him to lose control of the vehicle, and he ploughed into the stone monument in the centre of the town.

Luckily Mati escaped unharmed – but he broke down in tears after realising the ancient cross structure, in Cheddar, Somerset, was lying in pieces around him.

Wrecked: Taxi driver Mati Levy ploughed into the ancient monument following a ‘violent sneeze’, destroying parts of the 500-year-old structure

Today he issued a public apology to the people of the town for the damage to the iconic structure, which dates back to the 15th Century.

He said: ‘I was devastated. When I got home I sobbed – it would be the last building I would want to damage.

‘All I can say is sorry to the people of Cheddar and the area. And extend my apologies to the motorists and everyone caught up in the traffic jams as a result.

‘All my career I have never had an accident. The last thing I would want to damage is a 500-year-old market cross.

‘We moved to the valley because of its beauty and history. I am so sorry for what has happened.’

Reverse angle: The area was cordoned off while workmen assessed the damage. Residents hope the monument can be repaired

Married father Mati, from Rodney Stoke, Somerset, who came to England from Israel, had been a taxi driver in the Cheddar area for five years without a blemish to his name.

But at 4am last Saturday he was driving back from Bristol Airport when he sneezed violently as he approached the centre of Cheddar.

The sneeze sent him careering into the Grade II-listed building, which was originally designed as an open market for local traders.

The delicate building partly collapsed onto the taxi and the vehicle’s air bags did not deploy due to the comparatively low speed it struck.

Neighbour Anne Fieldhouse, whose house overlooks the cross, was woken from her bed at 4.10am.

She said: ‘One guest heard a screech and then a rumble. I felt it through my body. I leapt up and ran outside.

‘Someone was shouting from the flat above the hairdresser. The driver seemed dazed and shocked. I didn’t call an ambulance but I called the police and the council.’

Mati was breathalised by Avon and Somerset Police officers at the scene, but was released without charge.

Residents of Cheddar now hope a stonemason can repair the monument.

Its core dates from the 15th Century – although it has an octagonal shelter that was added later and replaced in 1834.

Cllr Lyn Goodfellow, leader of Cheddar Parish Council, said: ‘The market cross is an iconic building. It must be repaired and protected as it is so precious.’

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“Someone was shouting from the flat above the hairdresser. The driver seemed dazed and shocked. I didn’t call an ambulance but I called the police and the council.’ The man had just been in a car accident; Why the hell would you call the council and not an ambulance?

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…………Sorry mate …….I don’t go south of the momument !

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