FIT AND PROPER
CORNWALL PHV DRIVER LOSES LICENCE AFTER BEING CAUGHT WITH PHONE AT THE WHEEL
A PH driver has had her application to renew her PHV licence refused after being caught using her mobile phone whilst driving. Cornwall Council’s mis- cellaneous licensing committee made the decision when it met in May. CornwallLive reports that in the min- utes of the meeting it is explained that the driver, identified as CD226, was caught using her mobile whilst driving
in September 2020 but had also failed to inform the council that her licence had been endorsed as a result. The committee had been addressed by the driver and also by her employer who spoke on her behalf. The minutes explain: “Members noted the guidelines where an applicant has a conviction for using a hand-held mobile telephone whilst driving, a licence will
not be granted until at least five years have passed since the conviction. “Members felt that as a professional driver the applicant should have appre- ciated the seriousness of using a phone whilst driving and the danger this could potentially cause. Taking all this into account, Members felt that CD226 was not a fit and proper person to be granted the renewal of her licence.”
UNLICENSED WINDERMERE TUK TUK TAXI DRIVER TRIED TO CLAIM HE WAS PHOTOGRAPHER
A Lakes tuk-tuk driver operating with- out a taxi licence was caught out when he told undercover council workers he did not need one because he had found a legal ‘loophole’, a court heard. According to the Westmorland Gazette, Steven Sutton was charged with operating his tuk-tuk as a HC and PHV without a valid licence and was convicted following a trial. A court heard how Sutton, who runs The Original Windermere Tuk Tuk Com- pany, had claimed he was using the
quirky vehicle to take passengers for ‘photoshoots’ at Lake District beauty spots - and not charging them for the journey. But undercover council offi- cers found evidence he was charging passengers for tuk-tuk rides and telling them he needed to take photos of them to allow him to operate. South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court heard Sutton, 41, had ‘so badly wanted’ to obtain a taxi licence for his £10,000 tuk-tuk but South Lakeland District Council (SLDC) had raised fears over
LIVERPOOL TAXI DRIVER REPORTED FOR WRONGLY CHARGING EXTRA RATE
Liverpool City Council licensing reminds all hackney drivers that the extra rate on the taximeter should NOT be used for journeys from the city cen- tre to Anfield. The driver is now being reported for overcharging a group of elderly visitors to the city going to the Eagles concert at Anfield Stadium. A licensing enforcement officer identi- fied the offence, spoke to the customers and took the photograph of the meter. The driver will be reported
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the safety of the vehicle. After Sutton was seen taking passen- gers around Windermere and Bowness, members of the public, including other cabbies, complained to the council about him operating without a licence. Carrying out a test purchase on July 7 2021, council officers asked if he was ‘for hire’. They told the court that they were offered a journey for £20. Before they set off Sutton took three photos of them standing next to the tuk-tuk with Mr Hemsley’s mobile phone saying “he had found a loophole that if he took a photo he didn’t need a licence.” They described how travelling up an incline in Bowness, the tuk-tuk’s engine cut out and needed to be restarted. They then visited the viewpoint and returned to Bowness. Sutton was sent a letter telling him he could not operate without a licence. The court also heard evidence from South Lakeland Taxi Association, say- ing members of the trade were upset at losing business to Sutton. District Judge John Temperley found Sutton guilty of three charges, ruling the July 7 trip was ‘not a photoshoot’. Sutton, from Windermere, was fined a total of £380 for the offences and told to pay a £38 victim surcharge and £500 in costs.
JULY 2022
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