OVER-LOADED, over hours and over here. That's the scathing appraisal by the Freight Transport Association of the problem of foreign lorries on the county’s roads.

The Tunbridge Wells-based haulage association, which represents operators running 200,000 vehicles across the country, is disappointed that the Government has not shown a stronger commitment to tackling what it sees as an unfair competitive advantage taken by foreign hauliers.

The FTA “regretted” that the Government had not committed to establishing a database scheme for supporting the effective enforcement of roadworthiness checks on foreign trucks, many of which travel through Kent to and from the Continent.

The FTA believes many of them fall woefully short of meeting the strict safety regulations imposed on British trucks.

The association points to evidence to suggest that foreign drivers are far more often found to be in breach of drivers’ hours regulations and load restrictions.

The organisation also points out that foreign lorries already benefit by virtue of lower fuel duties on the Continent.

FTA chief executive Richard Turner said: “The UK lorry fleet is the safest in the world.

“But we are now under threat from the invasion by low-standard, foreign operated vehicles, many of which enter the country through Kent ports.

“We are seeing the graphic evidence on our roads from increasing accidents involving these vehicles and appalling statistics from the roadside checks carried out by VOSA, the Government safety agency.

“But VOSA is hampered by knowing nothing about these visiting lorries, or their drivers.

“The European free trade in the movement of goods, from which we benefit, has not been matched by a free trade in the data on the vehicles that move them.

“We should be exporting our standards to Europe and not importing theirs to the UK."

ONE in seven of the heaviest vehicles on UK roads is from overseas.

UK diesel duty is 47p per litre against an average of 22p per litre for the rest of Europe.