'Cold' case file is closed

However, 67-year-old Horace Stronge of Mullan Road, felt the saga had “blackened” his character.

Mr Stronge (pictured) had never denied taking grit from the Roads Service yard in Ballymoney on December 28 last year but said he was acting in the public interest by using it on the Mullan Road off his property to assist in making the rural road safer.

If Roads Service had came out and gritted the road he said he would not have had to go and get grit and he had claimed from the start he was performing a public service by gritting the public road to prevent a milk tanker spinning out of control on ice.

This week, Mr Stronge told the Times: “After the story was in the paper Mervyn Storey got involved for me and the message from the police was conveyed to me through John Finlay from Mr Storey’s office that no action was to be taken against me because I had put the grit on the public road and not on my own yard.

“I was told if I had used it on my own yard I would have been prosecuted.

“I put the grit down on the road to make sure a milk tanker could get into my yard. The lorry had to reverse into my yard and there is a bit of a slope.

“I am happy I don’t have to go to court but it blackened my character. I thought they would have had more commonsense than to have even started this,” said Mr Stronge.

A PSNI spokesman confirmed to the Times this week no action is being taken.

He said: “The matter had been reported to us but upon checking the situation out Roads Service did not want us to take any further action as they were satisfied the grit was used on the public road.”

A DRD Spokesperson said this week: "An issue of the removal of road salt from the Roads Service Depot in Ballymoney without permission on 28 December 2009 by an individual was reported to PSNI by a Roads Service official.

“The theft was reported particularly because of the individual's aggressive manner towards Roads Service staff on duty at the time. Roads Service officials have never made any suggestion or request that the individual be prosecuted on this occasion".

Back in January Mr Stronge said he put the grit down on the road to "aid the safety of other road users".

Mr Stronge said when a milk collection lorry was unable to safely turn off the Mullan Road into his property he lost 360 worth of milk and in a bid to ensure it would not happen again he set off for the Roads Service depot on Monday December 28.

It is understood a number of people went to the yard seeking salt to treat roads.

Mr Stronge said when he asked to take some salt he was told he could not but proceeded to do so "for the safety of road users" at Mullan Road and to ensure collections could be made from his yard.

But the police were contacted and he later received a visit from an officer.

Mr Stronge told this newspaper in January: "I had a problem getting my milk lifted as the lorry could not safely make it in and out of my yard onto the road.

"I had done my own yard with sand and had no more to do the road and I went to the depot on the Monday and asked them for the salt.

"They said I could not get it and when I took it they sent out the police. When the police came to my house they could see the salt on the road. I was cautioned but don't know if I will be prosecuted or not but this is hanging over me.

"I believe that after I was at the Roads Service yard they actually did leave salt out nearby for people to collect.

“I was doing this for the safety of not only the milk lorry driver and to aid the safety of other people using the Mullan Road to ensure the lorry did not go out of control and hit somebody else and as far as I am concerned it is a disgrace that I was reported to the police for theft and that they are wasting their time pursuing this.

"If Road Service had gritted the road I would not have needed to get the salt myself.

"Have police nothing better to do? I will fight this the whole way. Salt was removed from the Roads Service yard but it was for the greater good and I want to highlight that farmers on minor roads which are not on official gritting routes had to fend for themselves and then the police get involved," said Mr Stronge in January.

Also in January, a Roads Service spokesperson confirmed: "There was an incident involving a member of the public which is being dealt with by the PSNI."

And a PSNI spokesman told the Times at the start of the year: "We had a call from the Roads Service on December 28 regarding an allegation of theft of salt from their yard. A man was spoken to and it is a live investigation."