In Essex, where the Road Haulage Association (RHA) claims there is a lack of secure truck parks, Thurrock Council has started a two-week pilot scheme to clamp illegally parked lorries in the borough.
Following local residents' complaints, any illegally parked HGVs in the borough will be clamped. The scheme, which started on 11 May, is due to run until 25 May.
"The pilot scheme is being implemented to tackle this ongoing problem [illegally parked trucks], and it is hoped the financial penalty will deter drivers from breaking the law once and for all," says councillor Ben Maney, cabinet member for public protection.
The RHA's area manager for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex and Hertfordshire, Martin Dean, retorts: "This is disgusting. Drivers don't park up illegally because they want to, but because they have to. They have hours rules to abide by, and the region does not have space to cater for their rest breaks. There are people interested in opening truckstops, so this is what the council should be looking at."
Dean says the RHA will lobby against the scheme if it becomes permanent after the pilot.
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