:00:00. > :00:17.A court heard today about the chaos inside a transport company,
:00:18. > :00:21.responsible for the runaway truck in Bath that killed four people.
:00:22. > :00:24.The man who ran the company and his mechanic were
:00:25. > :00:30.The judge said they'd shown a cavalier attitude
:00:31. > :00:33.to maintaining their vehicles as Imogen Sellers reports.
:00:34. > :00:44.February 9th 2015, and a crash that changed the lives of so many.
:00:45. > :00:46.But today, Bristol Crown Court heard how it all could
:00:47. > :00:50.A 32-ton truck careered down Landsdown Lane
:00:51. > :00:58.Three men from Wales and four-year-old Mitzi Steady
:00:59. > :01:04.Today in court, the judge said the brakes on the truck,
:01:05. > :01:06.owned by Matthew Gordon, were so poorly maintained
:01:07. > :01:16.And that the lives of the four victims were lost due a bodged
:01:17. > :01:34.As a company owner, Matthew Gordon had no transport manager and was
:01:35. > :01:40.responsible for safety. His mechanic signed off vehicles are safe when
:01:41. > :01:43.clearly they were not. This subsequent loss of life and
:01:44. > :01:46.long-standing effect on the community were totally foreseeable
:01:47. > :01:48.and also avoidable. Emma-Jade the mother of Mitzi Steady
:01:49. > :01:51.told the court of the heartbreak She spoke of the devastation
:01:52. > :01:54.that their bright beautiful, vibrant, outgoing little girl
:01:55. > :02:08.will never have her She will never learn to read or have
:02:09. > :02:11.best friends to giggle and play with.
:02:12. > :02:14.Philip Potter, who was driving the lorry, was also a victim
:02:15. > :02:15.of Matthew Gordon's cavalier approach to safety.
:02:16. > :02:22.In sentencing, the judge said the lorry was so dangerous it never
:02:23. > :02:28.should have been on the road in that day in February. He said, you have a
:02:29. > :02:33.history of cutting corners with a reckless disregard for the
:02:34. > :02:38.consequences. It was highly foreseeable that death or serious
:02:39. > :02:43.injury would occur. That was the culture of your business. In
:02:44. > :02:50.sentencing the mechanic, Peter Wood, he said that he had a cavalier
:02:51. > :02:57.approach to safety. Matthew Goode was sentenced to seven and a half
:02:58. > :03:00.years in prison. Finally, the families can get on with grieving
:03:01. > :03:11.knowing that the men responsible for this tragedy are behind bars. The
:03:12. > :03:16.judge said that Matthew Gordon wasn't concerned for the public but
:03:17. > :03:23.only himself. So, what is being done to stop other companies cutting
:03:24. > :03:24.corners in a similar way? Scott Ellis has been out with the safety
:03:25. > :03:26.patrols. This is one way to make
:03:27. > :03:36.sure HGV's are safe, The operators when they sign up sign
:03:37. > :03:41.to say they will keep their vehicles in a fit and serviceable position,
:03:42. > :03:42.and if we want to send a message to those who don't, we are here and we
:03:43. > :03:45.will target them. The DVSA keep tabs on hauliers,
:03:46. > :03:50.using data such as MOT failures. That information's used by officers
:03:51. > :04:01.as they patrol our motorways. Along the M4, there are cameras
:04:02. > :04:05.spotting number though the patrol knows which lorries are coming down
:04:06. > :04:10.the road towards them. They can quickly check who is operating that
:04:11. > :04:12.lorry and if it is somebody who's got a poor track record of
:04:13. > :04:18.maintenance they are more likely to be hold in. -- pulled in.
:04:19. > :04:20.Across the UK, the DVSA checks 220,000 lorries
:04:21. > :04:23.One in three fails some aspect of the mechanical test.
:04:24. > :04:26.The Road Haulage Association wants more enforcement like this.
:04:27. > :04:29.And it wants new operators blitzed with an audit
:04:30. > :04:32.within six months of start up, saying that would have stopped
:04:33. > :04:43.The complete ignorance of the rules and the disregard for the safety
:04:44. > :04:49.rules would have been known about. It would have been reported to the
:04:50. > :04:54.traffic Commissioner who would then could have potentially taken action
:04:55. > :04:56.against them by removing their license or forcing them to take
:04:57. > :05:01.action to remedy the issues. Truck drivers we spoke to hope
:05:02. > :05:04.the Bath tragedy will send out But the reputable drivers worry
:05:05. > :05:14.corners will still be cut. People are undercutting each other
:05:15. > :05:15.all the time. And it is just the pressure on these companies to make
:05:16. > :05:17.money. It can cost a thousand pounds
:05:18. > :05:20.a month to maintain a truck. The message is profit
:05:21. > :05:22.cannot come before safety. The judge saying today
:05:23. > :05:24.Grittenham Haulage had a cavalier And this 32-ton tipper truck had
:05:25. > :05:30."truly serious faults" that Police are setting up a mobile
:05:31. > :05:54.station outside Motion nightclub in Bristol tonight where
:05:55. > :05:57.Deakon Wilkins was last seen The 24-year-old from
:05:58. > :05:59.Weston-super-Mare remains missing despite police searches of nearby
:06:00. > :06:01.land and river. Officers will speak to people
:06:02. > :06:04.as they arrive at the club tonight in the hope
:06:05. > :06:05.of getting new information. In tonight's rugby, Bath faced
:06:06. > :06:08.Gloucester at home and it The visitors converted a try
:06:09. > :06:12.on 20 minutes which gave them a seven point lead,
:06:13. > :06:14.but Bath went ahead with four penalties and then scored
:06:15. > :06:16.this try on 74 minutes. Gloucester hit back a few minutes
:06:17. > :06:19.later crossing the line So rugby tonight and
:06:20. > :06:30.football tomorrow. We'll have those results
:06:31. > :06:32.when we're back at teatime. For now though- I'll wish
:06:33. > :06:43.you a lovely weekend A marked change to the weather. An
:06:44. > :06:49.unsettled flavour to things. With the overnight rain clearing away
:06:50. > :07:02.during the course of Saturday, there will be a dry and brighter phase.
:07:03. > :07:11.Sunday will be mild. Temperatures broadly within the range of 3-6 C.
:07:12. > :07:19.Rather fragmentary in some of that pattern, the rain. As that clears
:07:20. > :07:22.away, drier, brighter conditions but as we get further into the
:07:23. > :07:28.afternoon, more showers heading towards the West. Heavy, thundery
:07:29. > :07:31.and some quite gusty winds. Temperatures nine Celsius, and it
:07:32. > :07:45.may Good evening. Not many would argue
:07:46. > :07:49.that January hasn't been dry, but today, many of us had our first
:07:50. > :07:53.significant rain for some time, because the transition is on from
:07:54. > :07:58.cold, Continental dry air to milder Atlantic air, but the transition is
:07:59. > :08:02.a slow one. So we have had ice today, and freezing fog, in northern
:08:03. > :08:06.England. We had a little sunshine as well in Norfolk, but we still have
:08:07. > :08:12.the cold air around and about in the north. All this rain you can see,
:08:13. > :08:15.which is giving is a wet day in some areas, 10-15 millimetres of rain has
:08:16. > :08:20.fallen, as it comes north there could be some winter it issues. Snow
:08:21. > :08:26.already falling over Scotland, possibly over northern England,
:08:27. > :08:27.possibly some sleet over lower areas and fog. Not