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Double-decker lorries could cut road haulage costs by up to Pounds 340 million a year as well as reducing the lorry fleet's impact on the environment, according to researchers at Heriot-Watt University. Alan McKinnon and James Campbell of the university's school of management, in a report funded by food distribution company Christian Salvesen, say the decks in many articulated lorries are stacked to around four feet high, with eight or ten feet of wasted space above.

"The increase in fragile loads and goods made from lighter materials means that we are not talking about heavier maximum lorry weight with greater wear and tear on road surfaces, but just making the best use of the space already available,'' Professor McKinnon said.

* Research papers can be found through THESIS, the THES Internet service: newsint.co.uk