A LORRY driver has landed himself a bill of over £600 after being photographed driving over an historic Ripon bridge in a wagon five times heavier than the bridge's weight restriction.

Snapped going over the bridge by officers from North Yorkshire Trading standards Michael Field, 54, of Fordgate, Holmfirth was tried in his absence by Harrogate magistrates and ordered to pay a £500 fine and £141 court costs.

Trading Standards photographed him driving a 38 tonne wagon over the Bondgate Bridge in Ripon, which has a weight restriction of only 7.5 tonnes.

Bondgate Bridge in Ripon with its 7.5 tonne limit

Also tried was Roy Hailstone 35, of Manor Way, Barnsley, whom Trading Standards officers spotted driving his 18 tonne brewery wagon over the same bridge. He was fined £400 with £150 costs.

The bridge, which spans the River Skell, was built in 1892 and is a popular local landmark.

The charges are the latest in a series of coups for North Yorkshire County Council's Trading Standards' "Keeping us on the Move" campaign, which has seen dozens of truckers taken to court for weight restriction offences in the past year.

County Councillor John Fort, executive member with responsibility for Trading Standards, explained that heavy lorries driving over weak bridges pose a real problem.

He said: "Besides the obvious safety risks, heavy lorries damage the structure of bridges and the cost of repairs has to be met by the tax payer.

"Furthermore, bridges have to be closed whilst repairs are carried out and motorists are often faced with congestion or lengthy diversions.

"Hopefully, this case will send a stark warning to those who habitually flout weight restrictions on our bridges."

The County Council pays out around £500,000 of public money each year on bridge maintenance.

It has recently spent £10,000 on repairs to a bridge in Cawood suffering from stress fractures caused by excessively heavy vehicles passing over it.

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