FIT AND PROPER


STEVENAGE PH DRIVER TO PAY £4,025 FOR OPERATING WITHOUT LICENCE AND INSURANCE


A private hire driver in Stevenage has been punished for operating without a proper licence and insurance. Stevenage Borough Council (SBC) took legal action against Paul Notley. after he was found to be driving a PHV without an appro- priate driving licence or insurance. At a hearing in Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on September 8, Notley pleaded guilty to all 12 charges brought against him.


They included charges for driving a private hire vehicle without a licence, and using a motor vehicle without third party insurance. He has accumulated 36 points on his licence, resulting in an auto- matic six-month disqualification. Notley has also been fined £1,680 and ordered to pay costs of £2,345. This culminates in a grand total of £4,025.22, payable in monthly instalments of £200. The court heard of Notley


“conveying vulnerable passengers over a prolonged period of time”. Cllr Claire Parris, chair of SBC’s licensing committee, said:


“This


case only contained a small specimen sample of the number of charges that could have been applied for. It was deeply con- cerning to learn that someone who had responsibility for vulnerable people, undertaking SEND school tran-sport and hospital trips would allow this to happen.”


MAN CAUGHT IN GLASGOW WITH FAKE LICENCE LOSES BID TO BECOME PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER


A man has lost his bid to become a private hire driver after it was revealed he was caught on the Clydeside Expressway with a fake licence when driving too slowly. Police Scotland objected to Abdul Wajid Mian’s application to Glasgow City Council due to an incident in May 2021. An officer told councillors that the applicant had produced a “false” Italian driving licence when pulled over by police. He had been stopped due to concerns over “excess braking” and “slow speeds.” Councillors heard the applicant also showed a provisional UK licence to the officers, but he was “not accompanied by a qualified driver”. Mr Mian, who has had a full UK driving licence since September 2021, was convicted in December last year. He said he had been told the fake licence, which he bought online, was legal, but police checks had shown it was fake. Mr Mian apologised for his


PHTM NOVEMBER 2023


behaviour and said he had been driving from Paisley, where he lived, to a job. “I drive well in Pakistan,” he added. Cllr Alex Wilson, SNP, Chair of the licensing committee, said: “You do realise you put yourself and others at risk. We cannot have people driving with fake drivers’ licence.


Cllr Wilson moved that the application should be refused, while Councillor Jill Pidgeon, Labour, proposed an amendment to grant the licence for a restricted period of one year and issue a warning.


The motion to refuse passed by four votes to two.


TWO HYNDBURN CABBIES TO PAY £558 EACH FOR CHUCKING LITTER FROM CAR


Two taxi drivers have been prosecuted and fined for throwing litter from their car windows in Hyndburn borough as part of a council crackdown on flytipping and littering. Both cases were presented to Burnley Magistrate’s Court at the end of August. Despite the two defendants failing to attend court, they were both found guilty. Each received a £220 fine, £88


victim surcharge, and £250 in cost for the council, totalling to £558 to be paid to the court within 28 days or they will face further charges. Cllr Steven Smithson, Hyndburn Council’s environment boss, said: “There are hefty fines for flytipping and littering and this ongoing council action demonstrates our commitment to enforcing these consequences in service of shaping a cleaner, healthier borough.”


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