An "absent-minded" workman caused a crash on a busy road when a ladder fell off his van.
Vincent Watson hadn't secured the ladder to his Vauxhall Combo when he set off from a friend's house, where he had been helping to fit a kitchen, and travelled along the Coast Road. A court heard that the metal item flew off the roof of the van and caused a collision in the carriageway.
Although nobody was injured in the crash, there was damage caused to the vehicles involved, prosecutors said. Watson, of Wiltshire Gardens, in Wallsend, has now been given three penalty points and fined £150 after he pleaded guilty to using a motor vehicle with danger of injury due to its security of load.
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Outlining the case against his client, Matthew Purves, defending at Newcastle Magistrates' Court, said the incident happened on September 1, 2022. Mr Purves added: "He's had a ladder incorrectly attached to his van.
"It fell on the road, the Coast Road, and it's caused a collision between two vehicles. There's no injuries but cars were damaged. He's got no past convictions."
The court heard that Watson, who earns £2,000 a month, had been suffering from a period of "absent-mindedness" as he was travelling to see his mother, who was ill. Mr Purves continued: "On this particular day, he had been helping a friend with the installation of a kitchen.
"He had the ladder while doing so and, on coming away from his friend's house to see his mother, he was absent-minded and hadn't attached the ladder properly."
Sentencing him, District Judge Paul Currer said: "I accept this is out of character and you're a man of good character and it was a moment of absent-mindedness, which led you to not attach the ladder to your van. Unfortunately, it had serious consequences. Fortunately, nobody was injured."
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