More than 60 cases against operators have now been dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service after a test trial at Birmingham Magistrates Court involving two mobile crane operators and two drivers collapsed.

West Midlands Police alleged that cranes were travelling during prohibited periods, which in their view meant they were no longer operating lawfully under the relevant road transport exemptions in the country’s Special Types General Order 2003 (STGO).

As a result, police claimed, the standard Construction and Use regulations 1986 applied, which meant the cranes were restricted to lower permitted weights and were overloaded.

The case was expected to last two days, but on the first day the CPS, on behalf of the police, offered no evidence, with the court formally recording the acquittals.

The prosecution subsequently withdrew more than 60 further pending cases involving other mobile crane operators based on the same legal issues.

Heavy Transport Association Chair Chris Britton said: “This is an excellent result for all those involved and an even more important one for the wider mobile crane and abnormal load community.

“Our industry welcomes targeted police enforcement to root out the unsafe and noncompliant but this trial sadly is the tip of the iceberg for many operators who have had to endure the onslaught of disproportionate police enforcement and the attempt to criminalise compliant businesses.”

This dispute sits within a wider disagreement between police forces and the heavy transport industry in the UK over the enforcement of STGO movements.

For many years, crane operators and trade bodies have argued that some police forces have interpreted embargo periods too rigidly, sometimes alleging breaches measured in seconds or minutes.

In addition, industry groups have maintained that mobile cranes and heavy transports are being treated inconsistently across different regions, creating major operational and financial problems.