A Polish lorry driver has been fined for failing to declare dangerous goods on a cross-Channel ferry.

Janusz Gauden, 56, was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £3,757.98 costs after pleading guilty at Folkestone Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

It was on Thursday November 20,that Gauden attempted to board a ferry at Dunkirk bound for Dover.

He declared that he had 383 kilos of dangerous goods, Methyl Methacrylate Monomer Stabilized, on his load but the ferry operator identified that the driver did not have the correct documentation and refused permission to board.

Gauden then went to Calais where he managed to board a SeaFrance Ferry without declaring the goods.

The Dunkirk ferry operator had sent an alert to Sea France to be on the look out for the driver but this information arrived after the vessel sailed with the undeclared dangerous goods on board. The ferry was carrying 228 people.

SeaFrance informed the Maritime and Coastguard Agency enforcement unit who immediately alerted the police at Dover Port.

The driver was stopped and arrested as the vehicle disembarked from the ferry at Dover. He was later charged with contravening the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous Goods and Marine Pollutants) Regulations 1997.

Keith Bradley, MCA hazardous cargo adviser said: "Methyl Methacrylate Monomer is inflammable and if subject to heating, such as in a fire, the product can become explosive and causes toxic fumes. For those reasons, it is important for the ships Master to know that he has the product on board and to be aware of the emergency procedures to follow."