VIDEO: “Dangerously” overladen trucks stopped twice by police are crushed

Stopped by Polegate road policing officers Phillip Edwards and Richard Trundle they were led to a test centre. En route one overladen truck had a tyre blow-out and both struggled to clear even shallow inclines.

Permitted weight for both vehicles was 3,500 kilogrammes, but one was found to weigh 5,760kg (64 per cent over) and the other 6,200kg (77 per cent over).

Drivers Anthony MacGregor, 35, of Belmore Road, Eastbourne, and Steven Catt, 24, of Calvary Crescent, Eastbourne were reported for driving vehicles that were overweight and in a dangerous condition.

Yet within weeks another Polegate officer, PC Barry Freeman, saw the same two vehicles struggling along the A259 at Bexhill-on-Sea, driven by the same two men.

This time one weighed in at 6,140kgs (75 per cent over its permitted weight) and the other 5,500kg (57 per cent over).

But they won’t be stopped again. On April 24 both vehicles were crushed.

MacGregor and Catt appeared before magistrates and were both banned from driving for a year and penalised with fines and costs totalling £620 each.

A company director, Nima Cham, was hit with fines and costs of £4960 and six points on his licence.

PC Freeman said, “These vehicles were clearly such a danger that the court authorised a deprivation order for them to be seized and crushed.

“Hopefully it shows that flouting safety laws will not be tolerated and should serve as a warning to all not to exceed permitted weights.”

Here are four ways you can be sure you’ll be amongst the first to know what’s going on.

1 Make our website your homepage

2 Like our Facebook page

3 Follow us on Twitter

4 Register with us by clicking on ‘sign in’ (top right corner). You can then receive our daily newsletter AND add your point of view to stories that you read here.

And do share with your family and friends - so they don’t miss out!

Sussex Newspapers - always the first with your local news.

Be part of it.