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Thieves target the A303 MPs' road cost fury WILTSHIRE POLICE
Page 10
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ARE warning hauliers to take extra precautions in the run-up to Christmas,following several thefts from trucks parked in lay-bys.
Witnesses have been asked to come forward after a series of thefts along the A303. Goods stolen include fridges, fridge-freezers and clothing, all while the drivers were asleep. The scale of the thefts indicates that the offenders may be using a truck.
The first theft occurred between ii .30prn on 5 November and 6am the following morning. The driver was parked up in a lay-by six miles from Amesbury; it wasn't until he drove to services at Amesbury that he discovered part of his load of white goods were missing. The second and third thefts were discovered on the morning of 7 November: one near Mere heading towards Wincanton; and the other on the A303 at Chicklade.
The driver near Mere awoke to find his curtainsider slashed and some of his load of medical clothing stolen; the other driver lost two pallets of medical sweets.
Detective Inspector Mark Power says: "Police have placed signs warning of thefts in lay-bys along the A303 and have increased evening patrols of the areas. -We are urging lorry drivers to take extra precautions when they park up overnight
• Contact Wiltshire Police on 0845 408 7000, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. A HEPORT BY MPs into roadbuilding schemes has criticised the government forallowjng costs to escalate by more than 40%.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has been told to hold the Highways Agency (HA) to account for delays and the variations between estimates and actual costs.
The House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, made Lip of 16 MPs from across the political spectrum, says that by September 2006 36 of the HAS completed road-building schemes had cost 40% more than had been expected.
It reports that over 25% of the HA's schemes due to start by the end of 2005-05 had not done so. It picks out the A46 Newark to Wicimerpool improvement as a project that has been delayed until 2012-2013.
The committee says the HA needs to strengthen its estimating and project appraisal techniques "as a matter of urgency" and challenges the MT to rigorously assess the HA's progress: "Since the dawn of civilisation, governments have been constructing roads, yetthe [HA] has yet to master the estimation of scheme costs, and lives within its budget by allowing schemes to slip sometimes years into the future."