A wagon driver who spilled a chemical on a road causing it to be shut for 10 hours has been fined £400.

Neville Marshall, of Conister Road, Douglas, had previously pleaded not guilty to the charge with a trial scheduled to take place.

However, on Thursday he changed his plea to guilty after the wording of the charge was amended to failing to secure a dangerous load on a vehicle instead of carrying a dangerous load.

Magistrates also ordered him to pay £500 prosecution costs due to the preparation work done for the cancelled trial and endorsed his licence with three points.

Prosecuting advocate Hazel Carroon told the court how Marshall, who is 65, was driving a wagon for a company on Ballafletcher Road in Douglas on August 12 last year.

The vehicle was carrying six 1,000 litre containers of steriliser, acids, and chloroform.

As he turned a corner three containers fell off with one springing a small leak.

Police and the fire service attended and the road was closed for 10 hours to clean up the spillage.

Defence advocate Dawn Jones told the court that Marshall had seen the duty advocate on his first court appearance and was going to plead guilty but then the prosecution had amended the charge to a more serious one of carrying dangerous goods which could have involved disqualification.

Ms Jones said: ’All the drivers are self-employed but the vehicles are supplied to them so they have no input into how the vehicle is loaded or what the goods are.

’His vehicle is not equipped to carry dangerous goods.’

The advocate said that there was no emblem at the back of the wagon which could be flicked up to signify a dangerous load.

She continued: ’He did make remonstrations with the company. He told them the way it was stacked wouldn’t be accepted by the creamery. He knew the creamery would reject the load but he was told to get on with it.

’He assumed that, as the company employed an expert on loading the items, they would have been secure.’

Ms Jones went on to say that the load had been rejected by the creamery as Marshall had expected and he had been returned to the company when the accident occurred.

’He had very little control but unfortunately the law is, as the driver, the buck stops with you,’ said the advocate.

Ms Jones said that Marshall had lost his job as a result of the incident but had since found alternative employment.

Magistrates ordered him to pay the fine and costs at a rate of £100 per month.