Safety checks on foreign lorries

Forty-one vehicles failed their roadworthiness test

Two thirds of foreign lorries stopped during checks on a motorway in Kent failed their roadworthiness test.

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) checked 63 vehicles on the M20 near Ashford under a pilot scheme with the Highways Agency.

Transport minister Dr Stephen Ladyman said: "Many traffic jams are caused by people breaking the rules."

A spokesperson for the Highways Agency said lorries were involved in one third of all accidents in the South East.

Dr Ladyman said: "All of us who use the roads are at risk if people are driving defective vehicles."

The scheme was designed specifically to check vehicles which had entered the UK from abroad.

It was piloted in south-east England because of the high number of lorries travelling through the region and the level of congestion in the area.