Dole dodgers caught in Essex HGV spotcheck
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• Some 6% of the drivers caught in an Essex police spotcheck last week were cheating the dole.
Officers had to ban 18 LGVs from the road because they were in such a bad state of repair.
And almost two thirds of the 105 vehicles stopped were either defective or driven by someone committing an offence.
A spokesman for Essex police says: "There is obviously a large number of drivers claiming benefit and taking backhanders. Officials from the DSS were with us and it was pointed out to the drivers that they should sign off."
No action will be taken against the drivers by the Department of Social Security, but they will be asked to repay benfits claimed while they were working.
Nine defective vehicle notices were served, four vehicles were found to be overloaded and another four contravened the Environmental Protection Act. CI A six-hour random vehicle check of 33 vehicles by the Derbyshire constabulary and the Vehicle Inspectorate at Raynesway last week found 51% had flouted some aspects of the law.
Four immediate and six delayed prohibitions were made and one driver had driven 13 hours with only a 25-minute break.
Operators facing immediate prohibitions will be prosecuted.