Magistrates clear Wilson SARI of cabotage charge
Page 22
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
• An accusation that Wilson SARL, the Dunkirk based subsidiary of Wilson's International Transport of Borough Bridge, had committed cabotage was thrown out by the York magistrates. The company had denied using a vehicle without an O'licence on 10 April.
For the prosecution it was said the offence concerned what was commonly known as cabotage. A foreign-based vehicle was probibited from collecting goods from one point in the UK for delivery to another point in the UK. In this case, two Portacabins had been collected from the manufacturer, one being left in a vehicle park at Wilson's Borough Bridge premises. The prosecution's contention was that that amounted to a "delivery" and was therefore cabotage.
PC Anthony Rowan of North Yorkshire Police said he had stopped an empty Frenchregistered vehicle belonging to the defendant and the driver had said he was on his way to collect a Portacabin. He stopped the vehicle again later that day while laden with a Portacabin, and imposed a prohibition upon it.
A check of the records of the Portacabin showed that the vehicle had twice left and entered the company's premises that day.
The company's transport manager, Tony Watson, said they had been told by Portaca bin that they were closing for the Easter holidays and that the Portacabin due to go out on the Tuesday would have to be collected on the Friday.
Defending, Stephen Kirkbright, argued that what had taken place had merely been a splitting of two journeys which was not cabotage. There was nothing in the regulations that said that a journey could not be broken.
Dismissing the charge and ordering the prosecution to pay £500 towards the defence costs, the magistrates said they found temporarily leaving a trailer in a lorry park merely represented a break in a journey and was not a "delivery" within the regulations.