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Taxi Firm Fined for Its Unlicensed School Run
25th July 2008
Bosses and workers at a Workington taxi company have been ordered to pay £3,210 for profiting illegally.
Ian Dobinson, 51, of Moorclose Road, Salterbeck, and Martin Burgess, 27, of Frazer Street, Salterbeck, both owners of taxi and private hire firm D and I Travel appeared at West Allerdale Magistrates Court together with Jill Stephenson, 24, of Frazer Street, Salterbeck and Harry Ingham, 60, of North Lodge, Allonby.
All of them also had points put on their licences and Dobinson was disqualified from driving for six months.
The court heard how D and I Travel had an agreement with Cumbria County Council Social Services to provide vehicles and drivers on a regular basis. The agreement was that licensed vehicles and drivers would be used. Payment would be made at the rate of 40p per mile as with other hackney carriage and private hire operators.
On May 4, 2007, social services arranged for the taxi company to collect a pupil from Fairfield School at Cockermouth.
Stephenson, who is a licensed hackney carriage and private hire driver, drove an unlicensed Skoda car to the school to pick up the child.
Another incident happened last June when officers saw Ingham dropping off a pupil at Fairfield School’s gate in a Skoda saloon car which was not displaying any taxi licence plates, but had the words D and I Travel in the rear window.
Enquiries revealed that the car was registered to Ingham but that neither he nor the vehicle were licensed for private hire purposes.
All the defendants claimed to be working in a voluntary capacity.
Dobinson was fined £325 and given eight penalty points on his driving licence after being found guilty of operating an unlicensed private hire vehicle and permitting Stephenson to drive without insurance.
He also pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting Ingham to drive an unlicensed vehicle as an unlicensed driver and causing or permitting him to drive without insurance and was fined a further £250, given another eight points on his licence and disqualified from driving for six months.
He was also ordered to pay £750 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
For the May incident, Burgess was convicted of operating an unlicensed private hire vehicle and causing or permitting Stephenson to drive without insurance. He was fined £250 and given eight penalty points on his licence. He was also fined £175 and given another eight penalty points after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting an unlicensed driver and vehicle, and causing or permitting someone to drive without insurance in June. In addition, Burgess was ordered to pay £750 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
Stephenson was found guilty of having an unlicensed vehicle and driving without insurance. She was fined £250, given eight penalty points and ordered to pay £275 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
For pleading guilty to being an unlicensed driver with an unlicensed car and no insurance, Ingham, who is not licensed to drive taxis, was fined £175 and given eight points on his licence. He was also ordered to pay £275 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
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Kind regards,
Brummie Cabbie.
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