Truck driver caught on M4 using two phones at the wheel
ATRUCKER caught at the wheel of a 44-tonne lorry on the M4 using two mobile phones simultaneously was let off with a £200 fine.
Video footage captured by police officers last week shows the driver of the Mercedes articulated lorry holding a phone to each ear.
Avon and Somerset Police were using an undercover lorry of their own – borrowed from Highways England – to give police officers an elevated view.
Footage from Operation Tramline shows the police vehicle pulling level with the left-hand drive lorry.
The driver can be clearly seen holding a mobile phone to each ear, before quickly removing the phones to put both hands back on the steering wheel.
The offending vehicle was then reported to a supporting policing unit which intercepted, indicated for it to pull over and dealt with offences.
A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police yesterday told the Western Daily Press he had not been summonsed to court.
She said: “That driver was given a £200 on-the-spot fine for the offence of driving while using a mobile phone.”
During the week-long operation the force also caught a vehicle weighing 3.5 tonnes illegally towing a trailer in lane three of the M5 motorway at excessive speed.
Another motorist was also caught holding a mobile phone with their right little finger touching the bottom of the steering wheel and their other hand nowhere near the wheel, on the M4.
Four motorists will be summonsed to answer to the courts for their alleged offences, while 72 were handed fines.
Chief Inspector Jason Shears, Roads Policing Lead for Avon and Somerset Police, said: “Driving whilst distracted is every bit as unacceptable as drink-driving and just as likely to be fatal.
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“Research has shown that drivers using a phone – handheld or handsfree – are four times more likely to be involved in a collision and their driving is also impaired to a degree similar to that of a drink driver.
“Safety on the roads of Avon and Somerset is our road policing unit’s absolute priority and we will not hesitate to use every option open to us, including the deployment of a range of unmarked vehicles, to tackle dangerous and anti-social driving habits.”
Avon and Somerset Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens said: “I am fully supportive of Op Tramline and the targeting of offenders whose actions are putting lives at risk.
“The offences captured by Avon and Somerset Police’s Road Policing Unit are appalling, unacceptable and dangerous.”
Beverley Hannah, Highways England’s South West safety co-ordinator, said: “The vast majority of drivers who use our roads every day behave responsibly behind the wheel, but there are some who are putting themselves and others at risk by simply ignoring the law.
“That is why we introduced the three super cabs, and we are working with our police partners across the country to tackle dangerous driving such as illegally using mobile phones, or not wearing seatbelts.”
WESTON-super-Mare’s former Seaquarium is to be turned into an all-day diner with cocktail bar and mini adventure golf course.
Owner of the town’s Grand Pier Kerry Michael, of AGM Holdings, signed a deal with North Somerset Council earlier this year to take over the seafront attraction – and spend £1.5 million on refurbishing it.
Work has now started to strip out the former attraction, which closed in March 2019 after years of operating at a loss.
The plans include turning the building, which sits on a stilt-like structure on the beach, into an all-day dining venue.
It will open from 8am till late serving a breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner menu as well as evening cocktails.
The restaurant will also have its own bakery on site, cooking up delicious fresh treats including cakes, pastries and breads.
Plans are currently being drawn up for the restaurant and the mini adventure golf course.
Alex Michael, who is leading the project, said: “The building is too big to use just as a restaurant and that is why we decided to introduce mini adventure golf.
“We don’t know at the moment whether that will be one or two courses as the designs are still in the conceptual stage and are currently being worked on.
“We are still in the really early stages of drawing up the plans.”
Mr Michael said the work to strip out the former Sealife centre was a ‘big task.’
“There are some big tanks in the building which need some serious breaking down and removing,” he added.
“But we are cracking on with the work and moving things forward.”
No name has been decided yet for the new venue and an opening date has yet to be decided.
The Seaquarium is owned by the council which let it to Seaquarium Ltd in 1995 with a 99 year lease.
The council said its tenants had not paid rent since the attraction closed and now owe estimated arrears of £116,560.
It says Seaquarium Ltd has indicated it will not be able to pay the arrears and the company is due to be dissolved this month.
As part of the deal to secure the future of the one-time attraction, the council has now agreed to write off the debt.
As part of the deal, authority chiefs have also agreed a two-year rent free period with AGM Holdings for the building, with rent starting to be paid in year three of operation.
West Midland Safari Park had initially stood as surety for the lease but the council said attempts to claim the arrears had not been successful.
The surety was transferred to another company in 2008 without council consent, with that company now also facing being dissolved.
The previous deal with the Seaquarium also included a small kiosk adjacent to the promenade.
Mr Michael has been owner of Weston’s Grand Pier for over a decade.
The pier was sold by the Brenner family to brother and sister business duo Kerry and Michelle Michael in 2008.
The pair have spent millions on making the pier one of the area’s premier entertainment venues.