A PRICELESS piece of York's history, which has been besieged by a string of lorry crashes, has fallen victim again.

Walmgate Bar - a unique national treasure due to it's barbican structure - had its stonework scarred again when it was hit by a lorry yesterday.

The 7.5-ton wagon had its curtain-sided back wrecked when its driver mistakenly drove into the stone archway while trying to find his way to the A59.

But council highways chiefs say plans are in the pipeline to revise the road layout in an effort to save the historic treasure from future crashes.

The driver, who works for a haulage firm at Workington, Cumbria, and preferred not to give his name, had made a drop in Beverley and was looking to head back to base via the A1.

He said: "I was trying to find the A59 and I ended up just following a bus through the archway when there was a loud crunch. It just makes you feel stupid. I think it could be better signposted."

Mark Santillanes, who runs the coffee shop, which is part of Calvary Evangelical Chapel housed in Walmgate Bar, said: "I just heard a big crash and saw the lorry outside. I guess he realised he had hit something and still managed to muscle through."

Pastor David Sylvester, from the chapel, has called for urgent action following a string of similar crashes.

Peter Evely, City of York Council's head of highway regulation, said the authority was hoping to try to tackle the problem by revising the lane alignment at the end of Lawrence Street so that drivers would have to make a deliberate manoeuvre before heading through the archway.

Updated: 12:35 Saturday, January 26, 2002