FIT AND PROPER


UNLICENSED PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER WHO DROVE SEND CHILDREN TO LLANELLI SCHOOL FINED £2,700


An unlicensed PH driver caught transporting SEND children to a special school has been ordered to pay more than £2,700 by the courts. Derrick Lewis was convicted in his absence at Llanelli Magistrates’ Court on 4 September after failing to attend the hearing. He was caught on 9 February driving a licensed PHV on a school run in Llanelli without holding the


mandatory dual hackney carriage and private hire driver’s licence. Carmarthenshire Council revealed that the illegal operation was uncovered during joint com- pliance checks by the council’s licensing and school transport teams at the school, where Mr Lewis was found driving a licensed car without the legal authorisation. Magistrates issued a £660 fine


alongside £1,778.50 in prosecution costs and a £264 victim surcharge, giving him 28 days to pay the total sum of £2,702.50. Cllr Aled Vaughan Owen, cabinet member for enforcement, stressed that pupil safety remains critical, adding: “We will continue to work with our partners to ensure school transport services remain safe, reliable and compliant.”


SOUTHAMPTON PRIVATE HIRE DRIVER LOSES LICENCE AFTER MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS


A Southampton PH driver who accumulated seven public complaints, a ban from the local port, and an undisclosed speeding offence has had his licence revoked with immediate effect. Councillors made the decision during a hearing behind closed


doors on September 16, con- cluding the driver was no longer a fit and proper person to hold the driver’s licence. The driver did not attend the meeting. The council’s licensing department had received a series of grievances, highlighted by a June incident


KEIGHLEY PH DRIVER COMPLETED OVER 200 JOBS WITHOUT LICENCE


PH driver Khalid Bashir completed 205 jobs without a valid driver’s licence or insurance over a one- month period, Bradford Magistrates’ Court has heard. Bashir, from Keighley, worked for Aireside PH between October 8 and November 8, 2025, taking over £1,300 while uninsured. His PH driver licence expired on October 7, 2025, and renewal stalled after the council found an undisclosed 2023 mobile phone driving offence. Appearing at court, Bashir pleaded guilty to driving a PHV without a


62


licence and proper insurance, but claimed special reasons due to his poor English. Bashir confirmed Aireside PH kept supplying a vehicle and never told him he lacked the right to work. Magistrates accepted it was an honest misunderstanding rather than deliberate lawbreaking and handed Bashir an absolute discharge, though he has since lost his licence. In May, Aireside boss Imran Khan was fined £220, an £88 surcharge and £600 costs for employing an unlicensed driver.


where a member of the public alleged the PHV nearly caused a crash after travelling in the opposite direction and turning right into a lay-by. They stated that their sleeping wife was thrown forward and left “shocked and traumatised”, and accused the driver of having “absolutely no remorse and offering no apology”. A further complaint in July alleged the driver was “driving like an idiot, nearly hit oncoming traffic, swerving all over the road” and was “close to hitting pedestrians”. Although the driver denied the allegations, he failed to provide requested dashcam footage as proof. The sub-committee also noted he’d received a three-month ban from Southampton’s docks by Associated British Ports in 2025 and breached licence conditions by not disclosing a speeding offence. The driver surrendered his vehicle licence


and attempted to


surrender his driver’s licence which the sub-committee disregarded in making its decision.


OCTOBER 2026 PHTM


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