A MAN received an 18-month driving ban for operating a ‘grossly’ overloaded transit lorry which he rolled and crashed into a tree.

Julian Patrick Wilton, aged 49, of Knapwater Walk, Dorchester pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of cannabis and using a vehicle which was overloaded and exceeded its authorised maximum weight limit and was sentenced at Weymouth Magistrates court on Friday, August 27.

Prosecuting, told the court that Wilton was working for Peak Scaffolding.

He loaded the Ford transit flat bed lorry with scaffolding equipment before he crashed whilst driving on the A35 Bere Regis Bypass.

His vehicle left the road and ended up ‘colliding’ with a tree at 8.50am in February.

She told the court that police found that the transit lorry weighed a total of 4,740kg.

It therefore exceeded the 3,500kg authorised maximum weight limit for the vehicle by an excess of 1,240kg.

Ms Oxley said that a roadside drug wipe was done by police and Wilton was taken to Dorset County Hospital where his blood was taken for analysis.

The analysis found a reading of 2.4ug of cannabis recorded in Wilton’s blood at the time.

The legal limit for cannabis is 2ug.

Mitigating, Des Reynold said that Wilton had been asked by his employer to pick up the scaffolding to deliver.

He told the court that Wilton admitted to smoking cannabis in the evening to help him sleep at night as he suffered with arthritis and shoulder pain following an injury.

Mr Reynolds said that he felt entirely capable of driving and had merely carried out instructions provided to him.

He said: “He felt perfectly fit that day to drive and was simply following the instructions of his employer.”

The court heard that Wilton was immediately fired following the incident but has gained employed since at a different scaffolding company who Mr Reynolds said was fully aware of situation.

Chairman of the bench, Mr Weston, disqualified Wilton from driving for 18 months and fined him £500 for driving under the influence of drugs.

For the offence of using a vehicle ‘grossly’ overloaded on the road Wilton was ordered to pay another fine of £500, as well as a surcharge of £100 and court costs of £85.