The commissioner for London and the South East was forced to ban some of the firms for safety failings.

Nicholas  Denton,  the  region’s independent regulator,said: “In  the  construction  sector,  operating  large  vehicles  is a necessary  consequence  of  the  main  activity, whether that is erecting scaffolding,  selling  building  supplies  or  hiring plant machinery.

“But they are still  heavy  goods  vehicles.  The need to carry out safety checks still applies.  The minimum standards must be in place.

“I  am  constantly  amazed  by  the  fact  that  people in the construction  industry who are very careful about adhering to health and safety standards  when  on  construction  sites  or up on scaffolding, seem to throw all that  care  out  of  the window the instant they leave the site.

“They leap into a  goods  vehicle  and  drive  off  without  bothering  to  check properly for  defects.

“Operating  the  goods  vehicle  should  be  treated with the same  reverence towards safety as is given to work on the building site.”