1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136 
Firm traded without licence
Page 24
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
IN what was described, on behalf of the Yorkshire Licensing Authority prosecuting, as an unusually complicated case, Peter Hothersall, Boothferry Road, Goole, and Graham Mann, Chapel Close, Rawcliffe, trading as Boothferry Freight, Goole, were fined a total of E160 before North Humberside magistrates on March 11.
The firm's secretary, Mr John Cassidy, an insurance agent of North Street, Goole, was charged with aiding and abetting the partners to trade without an 0 licence and after admitting 20 counts was fined a total of £100. He was also fined £10 for making a false entry in a driver's record book, but a charge of making a false statement to obtain an 0 licence was dismissed.
Mr Mann and Mr Hothersall admitted similar charges of using a vehicle without an 0 licence and were fined a total of £50 each. Mann was also fined £15 for making a false statement to obtain an 0 licence; f 20 for causing an employee to make false statements in a record book; El 0 for false entries in a record book and £5 for failing to keep a register.
Hothersall was fined £5 for failing to enter particulars in a driver's record book and £5 for failing to keep a register. A charge of making a false statement to obtain a licence was dismissed.
Mr M. Paterson, prosecuting, said that in 1973 a Mr Franks of Rawcliffe, worked as a sub-contractor for the Goole haulage firm of A. B. Williams Ltd. In August he sold his lorry to Mr Mann who told Williams he was taking over Franks' business.
Later, Mr Mann was introduced by Mr Cassidy, his insurance agent, to Mr Hothersall, who agreed to supply financial backing for Boothferry Freight.
Mr Cassidy acted as secretary and applied for an 0 licence in the name of Mr Mann and Mr Hothersall. The application was signed by the partners, but the firm began operating before a licence was granted. The business came under suspicion and it was not until after a very detailed investigation that the facts slowly emerged.
The 0-licence application form contained a number of false entries — the address of the operating centre, where the vehicles would be kept and maintained, was given as A. B. Williams Ltd, Larsen Road, Goole, and this was quite false.
In addition, Mr Mann had instructed his driver to enter the number of Mr Franks operator's licence on his record book, although he no longer had any connection with the business.
Hothersall told the court he had little experience of road haulage and did not ask for details when Mann told him he held an 0 licence. He said he had lost around £1,500 in the deal and could see he had been "taken for a ride" after a while. Mr Mann let him and Mr Cassidy dawn. The partnership was dissolved immediately he found there was no 0 licence in existence.
Cassidy said he knew Mann had two vehicles but no money and that Mr Hothersall had some savings, so decided to introduce them with the idea of forming a haulage business. The application for an 0 licence was filled in at Mr Mann's dictation and he took the information given at face value.
Mann said that when he told Mr Cassidy to enter Williams as the operating centre he believed this was true. He said: "I'm not bright at paper work and I was muddling through."
Mr G. H. Blenkin, for Hothersall and Cassidy, said both men had been duped by Mann.