It is not often I get the urge to repeat a press release from the council but this one caught my eye.

Fine for Driver Breaching Weight Restriction on Road

A supermarket delivery driver has become the first in Reading to be prosecuted after a resident reported him for ignoring weight restrictions on a road.

Co-op delivery driver Kyrstof Adamski was spotted by a resident taking a short cut in his 33-tonne articulated lorry up New Lane Hill, to get to the Co-op on School Road, Tilehurst.  New Lane Hill is one of a number of roads in the Borough with a 7.5 tonne weight restriction limit on it.

Reading Borough Council has been prosecuting weight restriction breaches for some time, but this is the first instance of a driver being prosecuted following a report by a resident.  He was fined £200, plus an additional £100 costs and £15 court levy by Reading Magistrates, following an investigation by Reading’s Trading Standards team under its (OWL) Over Weight Lorries Scheme.

The proper route to Tilehurst for vehicles over 7.5 tonnes is via Liebenrood Road and the Meadway.

The OWL scheme was set up for residents to report overweight vehicles illegally using their roads for short cuts. Trading Standards carry out spot checks during the year but the scheme was set up so residents could report illegal vehicles as and when they see them.

For more information of weight restricted roads in Reading, visit www.reading.gov.uk/adviceandbenefits/tradingstandards/owls-weightrestrictions/ or contact Trading Standards on 0800 626 540.

 Well done that local resident for reporting the lorry !