Derbyshire haulier faces a vendetta
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by Juliet Parish • A Derbyshire owner-driver believes he is the victim of a hate campaign after winning a hotly contested contract from ECC Building Products.
Richard Newman says that since winning a concrete slab and kerb contract in October his trailers' wheel nuts have been loosened three times; spikes have been hidden under the wheels of one of his trailers; and an air pipe on a crane has been cut.
All of the incidents happened at ECC's truck park in Hulland Ward, near Ashbourne, where Newman parks his three trailers overnight The vandalism has cost Newman £2,000 in the most recent incident six tyres on one of his trailers were blown out on home-made spikes placed under the wheels.
So far repairs have set him back nearly £1,400.
Now he is offering a reward for the capture of the vandals who he says will bankrupt him if they continue with their tactics.But it is not just the money which worries Newman.
"If one of my drivers doesn't notice that a truck has been tampered with it's not only his life in danger but anyone else's using the same roads," he says. "I'm frightened that if we miss a loosened wheel nut, a wheel could come flying off and kill somebody else on the road."
Derbyshire police are now investigating the attacks.