Absolute discharge on length
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• A Cheshire haulage firm was given an absolute discharge for running an over-length drawbar rig after claiming it had been incorrectly supplied a trailer by the manufacturer, who had been briefed to stick within the legal limit. Bernard Corbett & Company had asked Nene Trailers to build it the longest drawbar trailer possible for carrying bales of hay and straw. At a roadside check at Perry Barr, Birmingham on 16 February the Vehicle Inspectorate found that the wagon and drag was 1.4m too long. Andrew Fletcher, defending said: "The Corbetts feel badly let down by the trailer manufacturer, who had been briefed to build the longest legal trailer. The product had featured a wind-out mechanism so that the last bale of straw could be carried without overhanging at the end of the trailer, which the Corbetts felt was safer.
"Unfortunately when the extension was wound out the length contravened regulations," Fletcher added, "but the Corbetts were blissfully ignorant that the trailer was breaking the law." The company admitted breaking the 18m limit and was ordered to pay £390 costs. Nene Trailers, which has previously made trailers for Corbetts, says it built the trailer to Corbetts' specification. Whether a drawbar rig with a trailer extension is over the length limit will depend on the length of the prime mover.