A Stoke-on-Trent wholesale delivery firm which employed Polish lorry drivers to help save it from going bankrupt has been fined £2,000 for overloading a vehicle after one of the Poles failed to understand his instructions. A&A Wholesale Supplies (UK), which delivers to convenience stores, admitted a charge of overloading as well as the fine West Bromwich magistrates imposed £292 costs and a £15 surcharge.
Ron Lees, prosecuting for Vosa, said when an A&A vehicle was stopped for a routine check off the M6 at Birmingham it was found to be overloaded by 1,170kg. A&A MD Ali Laksari told the court that he had taken over the business to save it from going bankrupt and used Polish drivers to make deliveries.
"The overloading was not done on purpose," he added. "The Polish driver's English was not good and there was not much knowledge. Our aim is to survive and a new system has been introduced. We've been given some sound advice from a business expert, vehicles are being 
changed and a new man is now running our delivery fleet."