Officers from the Commercial Vehicle Unit stopped the vehicle on Tuesday 9 April at Bedingfield Way after the vehicle was spotted being driven with six pallets of bricks on. It was safely escorted to Bury St Edmunds lorry park and weighed using the team’s mobile weigh plates.

The gross weight was 9,400kg – a vehicle of its size has a weight limit of 3,500kg. The driver, aged in his 50s was issued a traffic offence report and reported for the overweight offences, tyre offences and having an insecure load.

PC Wayne Sturman of the Commercial Vehicle Unit said: “During the journey at very low speed, it was clear to see the vehicle was under immense stress. It was struggling to steer properly and the rear tyres were rubbing together due to the weight. Without our intervention and potentially travelling at speeds of up to 60mph, it could’ve ended in a serious collision, impacting on other innocent road users.

“Since our inception just over three years ago we have taken over 1,250 overweight vehicles off Suffolk’s roads.”

The Commercial Vehicle Unit (CVU) provides specialist enforcement, knowledge and investigative capability in respect of commercial vehicle activity, alongside contributing towards improving the safety of all those using the roads in Suffolk.

As well as policing compliance and adherence to the wide range of legislation and regulation associated with commercial vehicles, the CVU has an important role in the disruption and investigation of a range of criminality associated with commercial vehicle activity and use.