A RUNAWAY lorry which left a trail of destruction when it rolled down a hill was among a fleet of vehicles previously suspected of mechanical faults, the Daily Echo can reveal.

An investigation is under way after the articulated truck – belonging to Southampton-based firm Lambert Brothers Haulage Ltd – crashed into a wall at St Austell in Cornwall after the driver got out of his cab to ask directions.

Air leaks The driver chased the 16-tonne vehicle down the street as it knocked down lamp posts and signs before smashing into a wall just yards from the town’s railway station.

Now manufacturers DAF have confirmed the truck – which was carrying bags of cement at the time – was recalled in March as part of a countrywide inspection of potential air leaks, but claim it was impossible to have caused the accident.

DAF recalled CF85 model cabs after fears its Hytrel air pipes had recoiled during production meaning they were vulnerable to split at the pipe connection on the hand brake circuit, which could cause an air leak.

Initially the company recalled 340 vehicles but this was increased to 5,017 covering vehicles in the range of E905565 to E910246.

A DAF spokesman confirmed the vehicle was inspected in March.

But he stressed the fault would only cause the vehicle to involuntary brake while driving along, rather than affecting the hand brake used while parking.

He said: “The park brake operation is a fail-safe design which applies the brake using a strong mechanical spring.

“In order for the vehicle to move, air pressure is then applied to release the park brake.

“Therefore, once the park brake is applied, any air leakage would have no effect on the park brake operation.

“This means that this incident could not have been caused by air brake leakage on the articulated tractor unit.”

He also confirmed his company has checked the vehicle since the accident and added: “We have found no problems with the vehicle.”

A spokesman for Lambert Brothers Haulage said they had only had the truck for two months but refused to comment on the incident as the investigation is still ongoing.

No one was hurt in the crash – which happened at lunch time on Monday, July 22, but the road was sealed off for several hours.