Ex-Ward director cleared of money charge
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THE FORMER sales and marketing director of Ward Motors, the 110w defunct coach chassis builder, has been cleared at Leeds Crown Court of obtaining money by deception from a Scottish operator.
!Malcolm Ward denied obtaining $:23,000 from Mackies of Alloa by falsely representing that a coach chassis was built for Mackies and was about to be delivered to Plaxton's, the coachbuilder.
Prosecuting counsel Malcolm Swift said that in June or early July P)83. Mackies ordered an air suspension Dalesman chassis. At the beginning of October it was told that the chassis was almost complete and was given a chassis number, but that turned out to be the number of a chassis sold to Birchnell.
Mackies was invited to at
tend a display at Ward Motors' premises to see its chassis. fortuitously, Malcolm Ward had an Abbeyways-Ivesway chassis available as it had been returned from Plaxtons.
When James Mackie arrived. he was shown that chassis and handed over a cheque for 123,nin. In fact. Mackies never received a chassis at all.
In December. Mackie learned that Ward Motors was in trouble. Company directors flew down to Yorkshire and saw the three Ward brothers who tried to assign an uncompleted chassis to Mackies, but were prevented from doing so by the receiver.
James Mackie„i partner in Mackies, said he had paid the cheque over because he was told the completed chassis was liar Mackies. He agreed the completed chassis he had seen was not to its specification but said he accepted the explanation that the different configuration would give a greater luggage space.
Malcohn Ward said the:. had been considerable delav, over the Mackie chassis as David Mackie had been unable to make up his mind which engine and which body to have.
He had not asked James Mackie to bring a cheque with him on October 25 though he had no reason to refuse his money. He had never told Mackie the completed chassis was his, ind he denied he had been trying to keep customers in the air because there were not enough chassis to go round.
The jury was unanimous in iinding Ward not