A farmer caused £60,000 of damage to a narrow Highland bridge when he misjudged its width and then drove his combine harvester across.
David Nicolson and a farmhand measured the bridge at Dava before attempting the crossing, but Nicolson failed to appreciate that the road later narrowed by eight inches.
After the 62-year-old farmer drove off, concerned witnesses noticed that the side walls of the bridge were “bulging” with an alarming six-inch gap opening up between the bridge wall and the road.
Police were called and, following an inspection, the bridge on the A939 was closed to traffic for 10 weeks.
The bridge’s subsequent collapse was captured on film and shared on social media.
Nicolson appeared at Inverness Sheriff Court to admit a single charge of careless driving in relation to the incident on September 15 of last year.
Fiscal depute Adelle Gray told the court that it was shortly after 4.50pm when witnesses spotted Nicolson attempting to cross the bridge with the farm equipment.
She said: “They observed a combine harvester attempt to cross the bridge and having some difficulty in doing so.”
The court heard that, by this point, the hold-up on the bridge was causing a tailback in both directions.
Witnesses then watched as Nicolson drove over the bridge, with the machinery striking the walls on the side of the bridge and causing the bricks to crumble, after which the bridge appeared to be “severely compromised and unsafe”.
Police were called and closed the bridge with immediate effect.
Following an inspection by Highland Council the bridge remained closed with a diversion in place for 10 weeks until £60,000 of repairs were completed.
Nicolson’s solicitor told the court that Nicolson was “unfamiliar” with the stretch of road in question.
He said the farmer had been accompanied by a farmhand and they had measured the road at the entrance to the bridge but failed to realise it narrowed beyond that point.
He said: “This was not a circumstance where my client has seen a narrow bridge and simply crossed and hoped for the best – he took what he thought were necessary precautions.
“He did not appreciate that road narrowed by eight or so inches.”
Mr McKeown told the court that Nicolson, of Dunphail, was fully insured and that costs incurred would be covered by his insurance company.
Farmer taking a break from combine harvester driving
He said the farmer was responsible for livestock and many acres and needed his driving licence to play an active role at a time when it was “all hands on deck” for the family farming business.
The agent added that his client had already taken the decision to step back from driving the combine in future – a task he has passed to his sons.
Sheriff Ian Cruickshank told Nicolson: “It is the degree of carelessness that the court is dealing, with not the consequence of the carelessness.”
He added: “I have no reason to doubt that your insurance will meet the damages.”
He fined Nicolson £840 and endorsed his driving licence with five penalty points.
