A lorry driver who ripped down two telegraph poles and knocked down a lamppost after the crane on his tipper truck got caught in overhead wires was fined £400 at Dundee Sheriff Court on Wednesday.
Alan Walker (52), of Wemyss Place, South Road, Cupar, was driving the HGV in Dundee’s Perrie Street when the incident took place.
He had been dropping off materials from the tipper at the Scotia Gas Networks yard when he drove off with the crane extended.
It struck telephone wires that were then pulled tight by the crane, snapping the telegraph poles they were connected to at either side of the road.
The pole on the east side of the road then careered across the road, smashing into a lamppost, which collapsed, leaving it and the two poles and telephone wires strewn across the road.
Walker admitted that on September 21 at Perrie Street, he drove a lorry carelessly with its crane extended, whereby it became snagged in an overhead phone wire which was then pulled taut.
Depute fiscal Lynne Mannion said: “Walker had been driving his tipper lorry hired by his employers. He’d been depositing materials at a yard and the crane was extended to allow the tipping body to rise.
“Once he’d deposited the materials, the tipping body was put back to its normal position but the crane wasn’t lowered. There was an alarm system fitted for the crane but it was inoperative.”
Defence solicitor Cheryl Wallace said: “The damage was paid for by his employer’s insurance. The crane shouldn’t have been extended. There was a defect in the alarm but he knew that.”
Sheriff Tom Hughes fined Walker £400 and put eight penalty points on his licence.