SHE’S already stopped a Greggs lorry in its tracks so pier pressure wasn’t going to prevent a North Queensferry woman taking on the owners of a tanker.

Sheila Foggon, who lives on Main Street, was furious after claiming a company drove an HGV onto the crumbling 19th century structure in the village for a photoshoot.

The community councillor took a photo of the vehicle, owned by the Clancy Group, a construction firm that also supports the utilities network, on Thursday, February 4. She said: “I couldn’t believe it.

“It wasn’t on the turning circle, which we’ve had before, but it was actually a tanker on the pier. One of my neighbours further down the road was blocked in, she couldn’t get her car out of the driveway.

“It’s ridiculous that people think they can take a huge lorry like that down there for a photoshoot.”

Sheila added: “It’s totally inconsiderate and it’s not the first time. It happened a few years ago with a huge Greggs lorry and I actually had to stand in front of it and threaten them with the police to get them to go.

“They think it’s a good advertisement with a free backdrop of the rail bridge but it’s just an absolute nonsense.

“It’s a very narrow road, for residential use, and normally there are cars parked on both sides.

"We get lots of cars here and brides in the summer wanting their pictures taken, and that’s fine.

"But the road is certainly not meant for large lorries and when it interferes with our lives and blocks driveways, then it’s not on.

“The pier is already damaged and needs a lot of work done, something of that weight does no good at all.”

The Town Pier dates back to 1810 and was the main landing point for the ferryboats crossing the Forth from South Queensferry. Ferries continued to use it until 1964 when the Forth Road Bridge opened.

Chair of the community council, Iain Mitchell, said: “The public road stops at the turning circle so the pier is in the ownership and control of Fife Council so in that sense it is private land.

"It is open to the public, but if you’re going to drive an object like that onto it you would really need permission.

"What they did was back this filthy great lorry down there, onto a pier that’s not in the best structural state, and cause a great deal of obstruction and inconvenience.”

Local councillor Dave Dempsey said: “This is an extreme case. The pier is not in the best of nick and if they’ve driven a tanker onto it then they shouldn’t have done that, end of story.”

Fife Council’s Ross Speirs said: “The Town Pier is a category A-listed structure registered with Historic Environment Scotland.

"Although this is a public road, we are concerned at reports of a vehicle of this size accessing the pier.”

The photoshoot involved a 'specialist' vehicle which uses vacuum technology to clear drains and sewers quickly. 

The family-owned company said they invest in their plant and materials and want to "play our part in promoting the important jobs that utility workers do to keep our communities connected". 

A spokesperson from Clancy said: “We are sorry for any offence or concern that we may have caused while photographing one of our vehicles at North Queensferry.

"We always want to make sure we are acting with respect and consideration for the communities we work in.

“On this occasion our team was careful to seek to avoid driving or manoeuvring beyond the area of the public road, allowing us to capture the view of the vehicle without approaching the narrower pier access.

"During the time we were there, a number of cars were moved in the vicinity and we spoke to a couple of drivers to make sure we were able to leave the area again without any risk to their vehicles.”