'Reluctant' penalty for overdue licence
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• The chairman of the Penrith magistrates, Mr J. Pattinson, said last week that they "very reluctantly" imposed a fine of £3, with an advocate's fee of £2, on two Wigton hauliers after they had been convicted of employing a man to drive a heavy goods vehicle when he was not supervised by a qualified driver.
Pleading not guilty to the offences were Mr G. E. H. Stoddart and Mr J. W. Stoddart of Hillside, Wigton. Also pleading not guilty to the offence of driving a heavy goods vehicle without supervision while the holder of a provisional heavy goods vehicle driving licence was Mr B. T. Hudson of Mealgate. He was given an absolute discharge.
Mr G. N. Worthington, prosecuting for the DoE, said that the person who was with Mr Hudson when he was checked was an hgv licence-holder but his ordinary driving licence had expired the day before the check. This meant the hgv licence was invalid.
Mr G. Stoddart told the court "the licence was 10 hours overdue and I do not think that takes away its holder's experience as a heavy goods vehicle driver for 20 years". He added that it seemed a trivial thing to bring a man up for and put a black mark on a driver's licence.