Careless trucker who wrecked 120-year-old cottage avoids driving ban
Careless trucker who wrecked 120-year-old stone cottage when 26 tonnes of tree trunks fell from his lorry as he took a corner at speed is fined £700 – but avoids driving ban
- Christopher Wiggins, 42, crashed his lorry in Llangua near Abergavenny, Wales
- Bryony Francis, 53, was in her kitchen when the truck smashed into her cottage
A blundering trucker who wrecked a 120-year-old stone cottage when he crashed his lorry into the front corner of the home has avoided a driving ban.
Christopher Wiggins, 42, lost control of his timber lorry on a country road in the quiet village of Llangua near Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, as he carried 26 tonnes of giant tree trunks from a forestry.
It crashed through the front corner of Bryony Francis’ beloved home as she was in the kitchen, shedding its load of tree trunks which also tumbled into and virtually destroyed the 120-year-old cottage.
The 53-year-old felt lucky to be alive following the smash in May 2021[2] and said ‘they would be looking for a body’ if her husband John Clark was at home.
The forestry truck smashed into her property after taking a corner at speed that was ‘probably too high for that vehicle’.
Wiggins appeared at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday where he was cleared of dangerous driving by a jury but was convicted of driving without due care and attention.
He appeared in the same court on Friday for sentencing where he escaped having his driving licence torn up.
Recorder David Warner told him: ‘You drove your lorry laden with 26 tonnes or thereabouts of tree logs in such a way that your vehicle rolled over and caused very extensive damage.
Christopher Wiggins, 42, has avoided a driving ban after he crashed his lorry carrying 26 tonnes of tree trunks into a stone cottage in Llangua near Abergavenny, south east Wales
The truck smashed into the front corner of the 120-year-old home before the trunks came tumbling down and virtually destroyed the house
The forestry truck smashed into her property after taking a corner at speed that was ‘probably too high for that vehicle’
‘You drove it in a way which was careless in that you entered that corner at a speed which was, even by your own admission in an interview, probably too high for that vehicle with that load on that bend.
‘I accept that this was more of an error of judgement rather than a deliberate course of action or reckless behaviour.’
Wiggins’ barrister, Harry Baker, said: ‘He was working with an agency but he’s had to put his work on hold while this has been dealt with and the work has been drying up for him.
‘He has told the agency about this conviction and he’s been told that it’s very unlikely that he’s going to get any work now.
‘Essentially he’s got no income now.’
Wiggins, of Lady Margaret Terrace, Splott, was fined £700, ordered to pay £620 prosecution costs and a £70 victim surcharge.
He avoided a driving ban after the judge endorsed his licence with eight penalty points.
After the crash wrecked her home, Bryony said: ‘I had just gone to make lunch when there was a massive bang, the doors slammed and the coats were knocked off their hooks.
Homeworker Bryony and her husband John Clark felt lucky to be alive. Bryony said if her husband was at home at the time they ‘would be looking for a body’
Structural engineers carried out an assessment of the building, in the village, near Abergavenny
Gwent Police said at the time of the crash it had caused ‘substantial damage’ and neighbours had to be evacuated from their homes as a precaution
‘There was a rush of air and dust which hit my face and then everything went silent. I had no idea what had happened.’
But she walked upstairs to the front of house to see a gaping hole through to the road, the wall demolished and her living room and bedroom open to the outside world.
‘I tried to open the door from the kitchen into the front room but it wouldn’t open so I knew the ceiling had come down. I went up the stairs, opened the door and could see the front and side walls had gone.
‘It looked like a bombsite and there were tree trunks, about 30 to 40, everywhere.’
She said: ‘It is still very unreal and a total shock. But we are very lucky, if my husband had been at home he probably would have been sitting in the front room and we could have been looking for a body today.
‘This is a real accident black spot. The speed limit is 60mph but it is at a part of the road where is goes from being wide to very narrow in a very short space.’
Gwent Police said at the time of the crash it had caused ‘substantial damage’ and neighbours had to be evacuated from their homes as a precaution.
References
- ^ Matt Strudwick (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ felt lucky to be alive following the smash in May 2021 (www.dailymail.co.uk)