A COAL merchant was caught carrying short measures in bags of solid fuel on his delivery round, a court heard yesterday.

Trading standards officers made a spot check on the delivery vehicle driven by John Jolly, trading as JJ Fuels and Haulage, and found the first five bags were under weight.

Durham magistrates were told the bags weighed 46kg or 47kg, instead of the specified 50kg.

But Jolly drove off before the rest of the load could be weighed, during the roadside check on a round in February.

Jolly, 51, of Station Road, Easington Colliery, east Durham, admitted one charge of failure to permit the weighing and five relating to the short measures, under the Weights and Measures Act 1995.

He told the court that he only drove away because he was told it could take up to two-and-a-half hours to weigh the rest of the load and he had to collect his wife.

"I was not aggressive at all. I'll put my hands up, I'm a one man band and I employ a man two days a week."

He said he had been in a hurry on the day of the spot check but pledged that it would not happen again.

Jolly said he had introduced equipment to weigh the bags properly and had since ensured all bags weigh 50kgs.

He was fined £500 and ordered to pay costs and trading standards fees totalling £262.