Load case is quashed
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A conviction for using a vehicle with an insecure load has been Quashed by Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court, Kingsbury-based John Goulding Heavy Haulage was fined £750 by Newcastleunder-Lyme magistrates after a vehicle shed part of its load on the M6.
For the company, Jonathan Lawton argued there was no evidence the company was the -user" of the vehicle. He said the appellant was a limited company and nowhere in the police interview with a John Goulding did the company's name appear or reference made to a limited company. Goulding had told a police officer he was the owner and the driver worked for him. There was no position of "owner" of a limited company, said Lawton. There was nothing in the interview to show that John Goulding Heavy Haulage was the owner of the vehicle.
Judge John Rubery said if a company was to be charged it had to be clear it was that company that was linked to the offence.