A Monkton man has narrowly avoided losing his driving licence after admitting a charge of using his trailer to transport scrap metal items in a dangerous manner.

Twenty-seven-year-old Sean Wayne Boswell, of Long Mains, appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to a Road Traffic Act offence on June 24 of last year.

The court heard that Mr. Boswell was spotted by police using his motor vehicle, namely an Iveco Ford truck with trailer on the A478 to carry a car an other items for scrap metal in a dangerous manner shortly before midday.

The vehicle’s use involved danger of injury to a person because it had scrap metal items in the back and on top of this a vehicle had been placed on them, with the vehicle intended for scrap being held in place by the truck’s hydraulic crane.

This was not the purpose of the crane magistrates heard, and as the van was also not secured properly, as result it could have fallen from the vehicle.

Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones told the court that Mr. Boswell was in breach of a number of health and safety guidelines.

“His truck’s crane was used to clamp the other vehicle down, but it is not supposed to be used for restraining purposes like this. Guidance on transporting vehicles for scrap also states that tyres should be either deflated or wheels taken off completely.

“This was not the case here, and the vehicle could have moved back and forth on the back of the truck.

“It was also not strapped down properly and was sitting higher than the side panels of the vehicle transporting it,” he added.

The court heard that through the ‘totting up’ process the defendant who had amassed nine penalty points on his licence at the time of the charge, through speeding offences and driving whilst using a mobile phone, was liable to a driving disqualification.

Mr. Boswell presented an exceptional hardship argument to the court, and said that as he was the only ‘breadwinner’ for his family, he needed his driving licence for work purposes to provide for his partner and two young children.

Due to these mitigating circumstances, magistrates elected not to disqualify the defendant through the totting up process, and fined him £150 for the offence.

Mr. Boswell had three penalty points imposed on his licence, and was also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £85 and a £30 victim surcharge.