An Essex driver has wrecked his chances of getting cheap delivery van insurance after he was twice caught driving heavy loads over a structurally weakened bridge.
Besides his van insurance, the deliveryman risked causing permanent damage to Basildon's Ravenscroft Bridge, which is subject to a three tonne weight limit.
Trading Standards officers from Essex Truck Watch first spotted him flaunting the restrictions in April. They responded with a written warning, but within a month his heavily-laden van was seen crossing the bridge a second time.
Subsequently the rogue driver was fined £200 by Basildon Magistrates' Court, and ordered to pay a further £315 in costs.
His financial losses will be compounded when his delivery van insurance comes up for renewal, as convicted drivers spend significantly more on their insurance premiums.
"This conviction should act as a deterrent to drivers across Essex," said a Trading Standards spokesperson.
"Weight restrictions are placed on roads and bridges for good reason and breaching them can cause costly damage to the infrastructure of our highways and place other drivers at risk."
This latest case marks a total of four drivers prosecuted (and consequently denied cheap delivery van insurance) in the two years since Trading Standards launched its Truck Watch initiative.