Six months for no licence
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• A Bootle owner-driver, who carried on operating after his licence was revoked in December 1997, has been sent to prison for six months.
Gary Johnson, who traded as Whitehaul, of Burns Street, Bootle, was sentenced by Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty to two offences of using an 0-licence identity disc with intent to deceive.
Andrew Moore, prosecuting for the Vehicle Inspectorate, said that in February 1998 a Mercedes 7.5-tonner stopped in a check at the Kingsway Tunnel was displaying an 0-licence disc which had been issued to Johnson. However, that licence had been revoked the previous December partly because of poor maintenance (CM1-8 January, 1998). When interviewed at the beginning of April, Johnson had admitted he had meant to give the impression that he was still licensed.
Later the same month a 38-tonne attic stopped in another check at the Kingsway Tunnel was also found to be displaying an 0-licence disc in Johnson's name and the driver said he was employed by Johnson.
In sentencing Johnson to six months' imprisonment, Judge John Morgan said he took a serious view of the fact the second offence had occurred soon after the first.