Faulty weighbridge
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• A Darlington operator has been cleared of overloading a semitrailer to a dangerous extent, following a two-day legal battle before Lancaster magistrates.
Thomas Harker, who trades as T Harker Supplies, denied four charges: overloading the three trailer axles; exceeding the permitted train weight; using the trailer with a dangerously heavy load; and failing to display a plate on the trailer on 17 September when drawn by a tractor unit.
The trailer was at Heysham Docks being loaded for transport to Ireland. Harker does not operate any tractor units of his own and arrangements were made to move the trailers. Lancashire trading standards enforcement officer Sean McKinney said he had one of Harker's trailers weighed: there were no ministry or manufacturer's plates on the trailer.
Questioned by John Backhouse, defending, McKinney said he was not able to track down details of two tractor units which pulled the trailers into the docks.
Stuart Taylor, Heysham Port operations manager, admitted that there were spasmodic faults in the computerised weighbridge.
Backhouse argued that the trailer was registered abroad, regularly coming in and out of the country, and exempt from plating and testing. He said there was no evidence that the weight on the trailer made it dangerous. Backhouse said details of the tractor unit were unknown.