Busy freight roads
The roads around Castle Donington carry a great deal of freight. East Midlands Airport, close to the village, is the largest airport in the UK for freight and cargo carried outside passenger planes. Immediately north of it, East Midlands Gateway has a rail freight terminal built to handle up to 16 trains a day, and the East Midlands Distribution Centre on the old power station site has a railhead of its own. All of that is served by lorries, and lorries break down at awkward hours. When one does, ring 01332 916028. It is answered every hour of every day of the year.
Telling us exactly where
The road network here is tightly knotted, so a precise location matters. The A50 runs together with the M1 as far as junctions 24 and 24A near Kegworth, where the A453 comes in; East Midlands Gateway takes its road access from junction 24; and the A50's first junction, onto the B6540, is signed for Castle Donington, Hemington, Lockington, Shardlow, Sawley and Long Eaton. A driver who can tell us which of those points they are nearest, the direction of travel, or the gatehouse they have just driven out of, gives our technician a clear destination.
Fixing it where it stands
Most vehicles that stop around here are loaded and on the clock, perhaps with a dock booking at a warehouse or a container to clear from the rail terminal. A repair at the kerb or in the yard keeps that work moving, so it is always where we begin. Our technicians go out equipped for the faults that stop trucks most often, such as air leaks, coupling and lighting faults, flat batteries, damaged tyres and fuel problems.
When the vehicle is somewhere a repair can't be done safely, such as a slip road or a live motorway lane, or the fault needs a workshop, it is recovered with equipment suited to an artic, a loaded rigid or a coach. We can take it to our workshop at Calke Mill Farm, Ashby Road, Melbourne, or back to your own site if your fitters would prefer to finish the job.
While you wait
The driver's safety comes before anything else: hazard lights on, out of the cab on the side away from traffic and behind a barrier where there is one, with the phone on and the registration to hand. Once the vehicle is moving again, you will hear what failed, what we did and whether the fix is permanent or a temporary measure to get it home, so nothing comes as a surprise later.
