A SUFFOLK company has been fined �2,000 for driving an overloaded vehicle full of chicken manure.

Capel Mushrooms Ltd was taken to court by the Suffolk County Council Trading Standards team for overloading a lorry.

The permitted plated weight of the vehicle was 34,000kg but the actual weight was 43,260kg which meant it was nine tonnes, or 27.2% overloaded.

A Road Traffic Enforcement Officer detected the vehicle overloading while the lorry was being driven on the A12 at Copdock on December 10.

Trading Standards involvement ultimately resulted in the �2,000 fine for the company and �150 fine for the driver individually.

Peter Canfer, Road Traffic Enforcement Officer at Suffolk County Council, said: “Suffolk County Council takes very seriously the practice of overloading vehicles. “Offences such as this can have a serious effect, resulting in damage to roads and bridges and in creating both a severe road safety issue and unequal trading practices between businesses.”

A spokeswoman for the council said: “Any information about overloading, plated weights and weight restrictions can be found on the Suffolk County Council website.

“If any member of the public has concerns about traffic regulation infringements, or issues relating to Heavy Goods Vehicles, these can be reported to Trading Standards using the HGV incident reporting system.”

The report form is available for completion electronically from the Suffolk County Council website or by contacting Customer Service Direct on 0845 606 6067.