Hot tar smoker choked
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• The driver of a hot tar carrier was fined 2100 last week at Widnes Magistrates, after police spotted his vehicle smoking excessively and dropping hot tar on to the surface of the M56 motorway, but his company — N B C Asphalters — was cleared of committing any offence. The prosecution failed to prove that the firm owned the truck.
The company and driver David Dyson were each accused of using a vehicle emitting excess smoke and carrying a load so badly secured it was likely to cause a nuisance.
A police officer giving evidence said that he had seen the vehicle emitting smoke and slopping tar out of its boiler, dripping the molten material on to the road. He agreed with John Backhouse, defending, that he was able to see clearly past the vehicle and watch tar dropping on to the road.
The magistrates found Dyson not guilty of using a vehicle emitting excess smoke, and the prosecution indicated that there was doubt about the ownership of the vehicle and they asked for an adjournment to clarify the position.
The magistrates refused to grant any adjournment and dismissed the allegations against the company.