• An owner-driver who claimed he falsified his tachograph records
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for personal reasons rather than for commercial gain has been fined £3,000.
Thomas Smith, who has an Operator's Licence for two vehicles and two trailers based at Flimby near Maryport in Cumbria, pleaded guilty to committing the offence three times. He was ordered to pay £600 costs.
Judge Robert Brown said he had decided against a prison sentence because it could not be proved that Smith had been motivated by commercial gain. But he added that as an employer of another person, Smith had a responsibility to set an example.
Mark Laprell, defending, told Carlisle Crown Court that no more than an hour's driving time had been gained from each offence and these had been committed so that Smith could get home to see his family or find a better place to spend the night.
The offences were committed in Cumbria and along the Al in Yorkshire. The court heard that Smith had a previous conviction for fraud in1998.
After the hearing, PC Mike Woolaghan, traffic intelligence officer for Cumbria police, said: "The message from Judge Brown is clear—if you commit offences for financial gain or from a position of responsibility, you should expect to be dealt with severely by the courts."