Mum of boy killed by scaffold plank backs annual road safety operation

The mother of a young boy tragically killed by an unsecured scaffold board has lent her support to an annual police operation once again.

11-year-old Harry Dennis was struck by the board which fell from a van in East Sussex in December 2022, and later died in hospital.

Maria Dennis, from Hastings, has bravely shared her story with others as she supported the campaign to keep vehicles safe – and ultimately save lives on our roads – for a third successive year.

“The accident happened but it didn’t have to happen,” she said. “It’s through somebody’s laziness really that Harry is no longer here.

“I need to share that message to make sure people, when they are going on the road, take that extra time to make sure their load is secure, so it doesn’t happen again.

“We lost Harry through something that was preventable. I need to be his voice, shouting for him.”

Operation Rule was lead by Sussex Police’s Commercial Vehicle Unit, working in partnership with the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) and National Highways.

It took place on Tuesday 8 September at the DVSA check point on the A23 northbound at Handcross, where vehicles including open-bed trucks, lorries and tractors carrying trailers were pulled over for inspection.

And while this was a specific operation targeting vehicles which were unroadworthy or carrying insecure loads, it forms part of routine roads policing duties 365 days a year.

PC Barry Freeman of the Commercial Vehicle Unit, who ran the operation, explained: “This operation has come about as a result of a very tragic set of circumstances. In 2022, 11-year-old Harry Dennis was killed after he was struck by an unsecured scaffold board which fell from a van in Hooe, East Sussex.

“His mother Maria approached us and asked if she could get involved in any way to help prevent incidents like this happening to anyone else, and she is the inspiration behind this really.”

A number of other forces also supported the campaign by carrying out vehicle checks in their respective areas.

On the day of action in 2024, 131 vehicles were stopped nationally and of these, 73.6 percent were found to have insecure loads.

In 2025, 120 vehicles were stopped across the UK and 59.2 per cent had insecure loads.

PC Freeman added: “In an ideal world, we don’t want to pull anyone over. Our priority is to engage, explain and educate, and only if necessary, enforce.

“We want motorists to take personal responsibility to ensure the load they are carrying is safe and secure, before they set off on their journey. Those who load vehicles or trailers must also play a part.

“This should come as second nature – much like putting on your seatbelt every time you get in your vehicle – and should only take a matter of minutes. Those vital few minutes could be the difference in preventing death and serious injury on our roads.

“Nobody goes to work to intentionally harm or kill someone. However, the reality is, unless you ensure the loads you carry are safe, you put yourself and others at risk both during your journey and when unloading.”

Maria has travelled the length of the country to attend numerous conferences, presentations and workshops as she seeks to campaign for change and promote load safety.

She added: “On top of any financial penalty or prison sentence, you need to live with that every day for the rest of your life, that you’ve killed somebody. All the things they (the victim) had to look forward to and the difference they were going to make to other people’s lives, that’s now ended, none of it is going to happen.”