Overload conviction is upheld
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ROAD HAULIERS John Bryce (Contractors) Ltd, of Belmont, Juniper Green, Edinburgh, had their conviction of using an overloaded lorry on Al upheld in the High Court when their 'appeal was dismissed.
The company had claimed that its conviction at Newcastle upon Tyne on January 21 was invalid because the magistrates had allowed the prosecution to amend the summons so as to allege "using" instead of "permitting" after the expiry of the six months' time limit imposed by the Magistrates' Courts Act.
Mr Justice May, sitting in the Queen's Bench Divisional Court, said the summons had originally alleged that the company permitted the use of the overloaded lorry. That summons had been laid within the permitted six months, but when the case reached the magis trates the prosecution applied to amend so as to allege that the company used the overloaded lorry.
The Judge said magistrates had a wide discretion to allow amendments, even to allege a different offence, if no injustice resulted.
In the present case all the facts upon which the prosecu tion relied had been given to the company in the original summons and the magistrates were fully entitled to allow the amendment.
Lord Widgery (Lord Chief Justice), sitting with Mr Justice May and Mr Justice Park, agreeing, said he would not wish prosecuting authorities to regard the decision as a licence to disregard the rules and hope that their troubles could be corrected by amendments. In the present case the facts were identical in both summonses.