A TIPPER truck driver who crashed into an overhead motorway gantry after failing to lower the bed after making a delivery, has been convicted of dangerous driving.

The incident, on March 2 last year, led to the M5 being closed for about 14 hours due to concerns the gantry could collapse after the collision.

Anthony Baker denied the charge but was convicted by a jury after a two-day trial at Bristol Crown Court.

The 48-year-old got behind the wheel of the 32-tonne lorry at a quarry in Flax Bourton and drove to a construction site at Cribbs Causeway.

He deposited the load at the site before setting off again.

The court was shown CCTV and dashcam clips of the lorry being driven along Highwood Lane and the M5 south before the collision – with the tipper truck bed raised.

Calls from members of the public began to be received at around 8.20am after the incident, and minutes later the lorry struck an overhead gantry on the southbound carriageway.

The truck bed was detached from the rest of the lorry and one of the matrix signs fell onto the motorway. Nobody was injured.

The M5 had to be shut in both directions for almost 14 hours to ensure the structure, which spanned both carriageways, was made safe, police said.

The motorway was then shut again the following weekend to allow the gantry to be fully removed.

Baker, of Garnett Place, Downend, Bristol, told officers he did not usually check the lorry bed had lowered after making a delivery but in hindsight stated he should have.

He did not see any other motorists signal to him to pull over and he was unaware of any mechanical malfunction that would have caused the issue, he added.

He was released on bail and will be sentenced on Friday, August 2, at the same court.

PC Ian Hudson, of the roads policing unit, said: “The consequences of this collision could have been catastrophic had the matrix sign hit a vehicle travelling at 70mph or the gantry collapsed onto a live motorway.

“Anthony Baker’s failure to perform even a basic check that the lorry bed had been lowered is inexplicable and put other road users in danger.

“Road safety is something everyone needs to have at the forefront of their minds when they get behind the wheel of any vehicle.”