Police stop tractor in Lymington high street

On Saturday, February 12, Lymington Neighbourhood Policing Team officers were patrolling the high street on foot when a tractor came to their attention.

The vehicle was stopped and after a few checks it was found that the driver only had a provisional licence. This would entitle him to drive the tractor only on agricultural land.

Officers carried out further inspections on the tractor and found a number of “dangerous defects”. These included:

• Two front tyres with gouges down to the cord 
• An oil leak on the engine which had coated all the other components of the engine (fire hazard)
• The handbrake did not work
• No indicators were present on the front of the vehicle (they had been removed)
• No lighting on the vehicle worked
• The trailer being towed behind the vehicle had no breakaway cable
• The fuel cap had gone missing, so the owner had cable tied a bag over it to prevent oil spillage

Illegally driven tractor stopped in Lymington high street. Picture: Lymington and New Milton Cops

Following this, an order was placed which prohibits the vehicle being used on the road until all the faults are rectified.

A police spokesperson said: “As the vehicle was in such a dangerous condition and had the potential to cause a serious accident, the driver was reported to attend court and vehicle seized. As the vehicle was so large and heavy, a specialist low loader lorry was required which was an unusual sight for the residents and locals to the high street.

“Any of the numerous defects could have resulted in the driver or others being injured or worse. These kinds of offences will always be dealt with robustly by officers when they are discovered.”