SALFORD CABBIE TRIED TO CHARGE £200 TO MANCHESTER FROM AINTREE
A Salford cab driver was caught touting for business at Ain- tree Races - offering to drive people back to Manchester for a whopping £200. According to the Manchester Evening News, the cabbie was reported to licensing authorities after being spotted in Liverpool by
FIT AND PROPER £1,000 FINE FORWOLVERHAMPTON
A Wolverhampton PH driver has been fined after enforce- ment officers dis- covered that he had illegal tyres after performing an in- spection when they saw that the vehicle was badly parked.
Merseyside Police. The PH driver was no doubt keen to capitalise on the
thousands of the revellers descending on Aintree for the Grand National.
SUCCESS FOR HAMPSHIRE JOINT ENFORCEMENT EXERCISES
A bogus cab driver used stickers to trick potential customers into thinking he was behind the wheel of a licensed taxi. Dennis Hewlett used chequered stickers to make his car look like a private hire vehicle. He also stuck no-smoking signs in the front windows of his dark-blue Vaux- hall Zafira. But he was caught out when he picked up two people who turned out to be council licensing agents. The pair, who were working a joint sting between Southamp- ton City Council and Eastleigh Borough Council, were picked up while standing outside Boomerang bar in Hamble. They were approached by Hewlett, in his fake taxi, who picked them up and drove them to a Tesco store in Bursledon. Southampton Mag- istrates’ Court heard how he
then
charged the pair a fare and gave them a business card before they got out.
40
He was then ap- proached by a third council worker, in another car, who fol- lowed the
un-
licensed vehicle. Eastleigh Borough Council prosecutor Dave Foster said both Hewlett, from Southampton, and his vehicle, were unlicensed to pro- vide either private hire or taxi services. He failed to appear at court last month and was guilty of
found illegally
plying for hire in his absence. His sen- tencing was ad- journed to enable the council to make further enquiries. On the same day, Eastleigh Borough Council also suc- cessfully prosecuted a licensed private hire driver who was illegally picking up passengers from a taxi rank. Private hire driver Shaun Scott, 46, of Warsash, was caught out in a separate sting, when he agreed to drive two undercover licens- ing officers from
near the taxi rank at Eastleigh rail station last November. He was hit with fines and costs in excess of £2,000 for the offence and for driv- ing without valid insurance. Scott, who was sen- tenced in his ab- sence, also had eight penalty points added to his licence. Eastleigh Borough Council’s Cabinet Lead for Transport, Councillor David Airey, said: “These two prosecutions are an excellent result for the legal and licensing teams and are a tribute to the painstaking way they build a case.” Mmmm… Both this item and the one next to it from Car- marthen act as proof positive that enforce- ment can be taken against bogus drivers posing as licensed taxi/PHV drivers. Would that more of this action would take place! We await sentencing of the Southampton guy, and hope it is com- mensurate. – Ed.
PHV DRIVER WITH TWO ILLEGAL TYRES were
According to the West Bridgford Wire, the vehicle was seen on Station Street in Nottingham. During the exam both the vehicle’s front
tyres were
found to have insuf- ficient tread and
therefore
deemed to be ille- gal. Last month at Not- tingham Magistrates’ Court the driver was ordered to pay £1,080 in fines and costs. His licence was also endorsed.
READING TAXI DRIVER’S LICENCE REVOKED FOR DRIVING ON PAVEMENT
A taxi driver who was caught driving on the pavement on two separate occa- sions has had his licence revoked. According to the Reading Chronicle, the first offence committed by Man- zoor Hussain was spotted by police officers on April 5 last year. They witnessed the 44-year-old driving in front of Metro
bank and across the entrance to the Broad Street Mall to avoid traffic. On May 16 2018 he was caught on CCTV driving across the pavement out- side Tesco Express on Oxford Road to avoid having to reverse into a park- ing space. The council’s licens- ing committee re- voked Mr Hussain’s licence at a meeting
in August as mem- bers concluded he was not a fit and proper person to hold a licence. Mr Hussain subse- quently appealed the decision of the licensing committee and had his case heard at Reading Magistrates’ Court on March 18. The court dismissed his appeal and ordered him to pay legal costs of £500.
ILLEGAL CARMARTHEN DRIVER CAUGHT GIVING GOLFERS LIFT HOME
A Carmarthen man was caught provid- ing an illegal taxi service to a group of men returning from a golfing trip to Por- tugal. Jason Vaughan, from Johnstown, was pul- led over on the A48 in October 2018, as part of a joint opera- tion between Car- marthenshire Coun- ty Council licensing officers and Dyfed- Powys Police. Vaughan was driv- ing a black Peugeot Eurobus emblazon- ed with taxi mark- ings, including door stickers, taxi plate
and taxi roof sign. However, known to the licensing offi- cers, it was quickly established that he did not hold the appropriate licence – an offence he had been warned about a few months before. When questioned by officers about why he had picked up the seven fare- paying passengers from Bristol Airport that evening, he said “needs must, need- ed to pick up the boys”. Vaughan admitted the offence, saying he thought he would
be covered by his insurance. The case was heard at Llanelli Magis- trates’ Court on Friday, March 29, where he was con- victed in his ab- sence. For driving a PHV without a licence he received a £750 fine, with £444.27 costs and £75 victim sur- charge. His company, JRV Cars Ltd, was also fined £750, with £444.27 costs and £75 victim sur- charge, for allowing an unlicensed driver to drive a PHV.
MAY 2019
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