Lorries drivers fined for breaking weight limits

A LORRY driver who crossed the River Great Ouse on the 14th century bridge between Godmanchester and Huntingdon and exceeded the weight limit was ordered to pay £450 by Huntingdonshire magistrates last week. The driver from Irthlingborough, Northants, was

A LORRY driver who crossed the River Great Ouse on the 14th century bridge between Godmanchester and Huntingdon and exceeded the weight limit was ordered to pay £450 by Huntingdonshire magistrates last week.

The driver from Irthlingborough, Northants, was fined £200 for exceeding the 7.5-tonne weight limit in his 18-tonne truck and ordered to pay a contribution of £250 towards Cambridgeshire County Council's prosecution costs.

Nicola Molloy, for the council, said drivers were using the route to avoid congestion at Spittals interchange (the junction of the A14 and A141).

The driver, who pleaded guilty by post, claimed he thought that because the vehicle was unladen it weighed less than the limit. But it was the "plated" (maximum gross) weight that counted, Ms Molloy explained to the court.

Cases against three other truck drivers accused of exceeding the weight limit on the mediaeval structure were adjourned.

Two drivers were fined for breaking the overnight weight limit in Hilton and another for ignoring the restriction in Brampton.

John Gray, of Overcote Lane, Needingworth, must also pay £450 in fines and costs for disturbing Hilton residents in the early hours in his 32-tonner. He pleaded guilty to exceeding the 7.5-tonne limit, as did a driver from Hoddesdon, whose tariff totalled £500.

A Norfolk driver who transgressed a similar permanent limit on Buckden Road and Church Road, Brampton, also faces a £500 court bill. He also pleaded guilty, citing heavy traffic on the A1 and A14 as an excuse.