A first successful prosecution has been secured by Westbury Lorry Watch, after volunteers spotted a vehicle flouting the weight restriction on the Station Road bridge.

Two volunteers, who were supported by Wilt-shire Council, began monitoring the 7.5-tonne limit bridge in March, after town residents expressed concerns that heavier vehicles were using it.

Hopkins Concrete Ltd, of Somerset, was prosecuted at Chippenham Magistrates’ Court on November 24, for breaching the limit in Westbury and in Bradford on Avon. 

The firm was fined £660 for each breach, with additional costs of £400 and a victim surcharge of £66.

Westbury town councillor David Jenkins, who started the watch scheme, said: “The fact that we now have our first prosecution shows the system does work. It will help raise awareness and make big HGVs think twice about going over the bridge. 

“It’s great news to see the scheme is working and anyone who wishes to volunteer to help out would be more than welcome.”

The volunteer-run project mirrors the successful lorry watch in Bradford on Avon, which has secured a number of prosecutions since 2011.

Stephanie Ridout, coordinator of Bradford’s lorry watch team, said it was ready to take over the work of processing the prosecutions from Trading Standards. 

She hopes that from March the team will be able to collect DVLA data and send out paperwork, saving Trading Standards staff about seven hours on each prosecution.