Mushroom firm falls fowl of the taw
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A SUFFOLK OPERATOR has been fined £2,000 after overloading a truck with chicken manure.
In a prosecution brought by Suffolk County Council trading standards team, heard at Ipswich Magistrates Court, the driver of the vehicle, operated by Capel St Mary-based Cape! Mushrooms, also received a £150 fine. On 10 December, he was stopped by a road traffic enforcement officer on the Al2 at Copdoek, Suffolk. The plated weight of the vehicle was 34,000kg but it weighed 43260kg, which meant it was nine tonnes — 27.2% — overloaded.
Carol Garrett, principal officer at Suffolk County Council, says the authority takes the practice of overloading vehicles "very seriously".
"Offences such as this can have a serious effect, resulting in damage to roads and bridges and in creating a severe road safety issue and unequal trading practices between businesses," she adds.