A TAXI driver was left shaken after his vehicle was written off by Stonebow’s controversial rising bollard.

Onlookers watched as the electronic bollard on Stonebow rose up under a 2005 Vauxhall Zafira at about 5.30pm on Thursday.

The 50-year-old driver, who did not wish to be named, said he was following the normal procedures for going over the bollard when the incident occurred.

“I was doing about 15 or 20 miles an hour, concentrating on the lights as I approached, and the next thing I knew I felt myself going up,” said the driver, who works for a York-based taxi firm.

He had no passenger at the time. The driver said he faced losing takings until he could borrow a replacement vehicle. “This bollard is a total pain. It should never have been placed here. It’s about time the council got this sorted out,” he said.

Darren Capes, City of York Council’s transport systems manager, said a diagnostic check showed no faults with the bollard.

“Checks of the bollard immediately afterwards revealed that it had suffered serious damage, suggesting a very heavy impact from a vehicle travelling at significant speed,” he said.

“A fault related to the bollard’s control switches was rectified just over two weeks ago, but the bollard has been operating normally since then. “It is unlikely that the device in the taxi that causes the bollard to lower had failed and we have no evidence to suggest there was a failure of the system.”