A HEAVY goods driver represented by Lester Morrill Solicitors has been acquitted of driving over the limit, after the courts accepted he was not driving in a public place. 

The case had arisen after the man had parked in a designated truck stop during a rest period and gone to relax at a local pub. 

When he returned to the parking area he was asked to move his truck by security, at which point he collided with another vehicle.

Police charged the man, but when the case came to court, Lester Morrill argued that the truck stop was not open to the public and could not be classed as a road as defined under the Road Traffic Act. 

Magistrates accepted the argument and found the defendant not guilty.

Philip Goldberg, who defended the motorist, said the man’s livelihood had depended on the result of his case.

“This is a clear example that road traffic offences need to be dealt with by an experienced solicitor who is able to advance legal arguments robustly to ensure the best outcome,” said a spokesman for the solicitors.

“Interestingly after the magistrates had retired to consider their decision, the officer in the case who had been cross-examined at length by Mr Goldberg, came up and congratulated him on advancing such a strong case on behalf of his client.”

According to law, a road in England or Wales is defined as “any highway and any other road to which the public has access and includes bridges over which a road passes.”