LORRY driver Lee Hudson was given the sack after he accidentally crashed his lorry into Kingway Bridge, near Corston, Malmesbury, and was charged with careless driving.

Mr Hudson, of West Bromwich, said he crashed into the bridge on April 24 because he was used to driving a lorry with a lower trailer and thought he would be able to squeeze under the bridge.

He appeared before magistrates in Chippenham on Monday. Prosecutor Michelle Hewitt said: "A police officer noted the trailer had got stuck under the bridge and collided with it."

She said a notice on the bridge said the height restriction was 14ft 3ins and a notice on the back of Hudson's lorry said it was 14ft 9ins high.

Hudson's solicitor Michael Jeary said: "There is no special reason I could use to ask you not to impose points or consider disqualification. He is a professional driver and this wasn't his normal trailer. Although it looked the same height, he should have gone to the back and checked it.

"It was not until three foot off the bridge he realised and thought 'oh my gosh.'"

Magistrates heard that Hudson was sacked from his job following the accident, and was only just about to start a new one after more than two months of unemployment.

They decided to endorse his license with four penalty points and fined him £250. He was ordered to pay court costs of £35.