Police stop driver in Elland carrying load 'twice as long' as vehicle

A van driver has been stopped by police in West Yorkshire for carrying a "dangerous load" twice as long as the vehicle.

Two officers were on an evening patrol in Elland near Halifax on Wednesday, 4 January, when they spotted the huge metal structure strapped onto the van and "thought their eyes were deceiving them".

A picture posted on social media shows a high-visibility jacket draped over the end of the frame, which is over-hanging the end of the flat bed.

The Calderdale Valleys team at West Yorkshire Police said the load made the vehicle "maybe even touch longer than a bus".

In a Facebook post they said: "Whilst patrolling Elland this evening, PC Burn and PCSO Wardman sighted the below vehicle and thought their eyes were deceiving them.

"Unsurprisingly the driver was stopped and dealt with for having a dangerous load."

The force had a piece of advice for the driver, who had "learned this lesson the hard way."

It said: "If the load you want to transport is twice as long as your van and maybe even touch longer than a bus, it's perhaps a wise idea to find a different way of transporting it."

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