New Forest: Court told driver on phone as lorry’s bricks fell

Mr Kotlowski had worked for Myers transport at the time for 10 years and had a clean drivers licence.

In a statement given to police on 31 October 2023 he said he was using the phone through a Bluetooth headset and the hands-free device in his lorry cab.

Mr Kotlowski, who is originally from Poland, said a colleague “had contacted him for advice as he was more experienced and his English was better”.

He told police he was relaying his colleague’s “problems” with their office.

Witnesses Robert Dilworth and Leon Palmer were travelling in a Ford van just behind Mr Kotlowski and noticed the rearmost strap holding the bricks was loose.

Mr Dilworth, who runs a building company, was driving and said he “panicked” and told Mr Palmer: “We’ve got to stop that lorry.”

He added: “Someone’s going to get killed in Lyndhurst”.