0-lic duration reduced after fleet inspection
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Margaret Howell of St Leonards Herefordshire
• AN UNSATISFACTORY maintenance investigation has led to the duration of the licence held by Margaret Howell, of St Leonards, Herefordshire, being cut so that it now expires at the end ofJune 1991, instead of in 1994.
Mrs Howell, who holds a licence for eight vehicles and six trailers, appeared before West Midland LA John Mervyn Pugh at a Birmingham public inquiry, For Mrs Howell, Michael Carless said there had been financial problems in 1963 and since then she had been responsible for the licence in that it was in her name. However, it was Mr Howell who was in day to day contact with the business. Two full-time skilled mechanics were employed and since the problem had come to light one had been replaced. The vehicles had been inspected every four weeks and that had now been reduced to every two weeks, said Carless. The Howells had been in business for a long time, with a good record, and this was the first time they had been in trouble.
Vincent Howell said a number of the prohibitions had been in relation to tyre defects. The tyres could be perfect when a vehicle left the yard, yet come back with chunks out of them after loading in a scrapyard.
Prematurely terminating the licence, Mervyn Pugh said that it was an unhappy story. However, he took account of the fact the Howells had done their best to put the situation right and that the maintenance system seemed to have been working well since December.