Farmer fined £2,000 for defective trailer
A trailer with brake problems and worn-down tyres was used to carry metal beams along a busy country road, a court has heard.
Samual Edward Davies was asked by his uncle Martin Evans to collect metal beams from Caersws on October 6 and transport them to Four Crosses before taking them on to Pontesbury the following day – a journey of more than 40 miles.
But Davies, 18, was stopped in his tractor by police when he reached Newtown six-and-a-half miles after the start of his journey, and officers found a number of issues with the trailer, Welshpool Magistrates Court was told.
Evans, 50 of Llangedwyn, Powys, was fined £2,000 when he appeared at court yesterday. He admitted nine charges relating to the condition of the trailer and the way it had been loaded, including problems with its brakes, having a tyre which had worn down to the ply, and not securing the load well enough.
Evans also admitted not having the correct operators license to use the trailer for carrying the beams, and not having a record sheet for the driver.
He was also ordered to pay a £40 surcharge.
Davies, also of Llangedwyn, who was 17 at the time he was stopped, also admitted the nine charges relating to the trailer's condition and the way it had been loaded. He was fined £100 and ordered to pay a £20 surcharge.
The men were given three points each on their driving licenses and ordered to pay £85 costs each.
Mr Huw Williams, for Evans, said: "Mr Evans allowed his nephew to use a vehicle on a public road for commercial purposes and he shouldn't have done that. He had nothing to do with the loading of the vehicle but he is responsible for maintaining the tractor and trailer.
"That trailer is usually only used in a three-week period every year to haul hay and straw and so is not regularly maintained. All the other 66 appliances Mr Evans owns are maintained properly."
