NO AUTHORITY TO PROSECUTE
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THE case against a bus driver who admitted that his vehicle carried 50 passengers instead of the 29 for which it was licensed was dismissed by Hereford magistrates on Monday because they were not satisfied that the police had " proper authority" to prosecute.
Mr. L. J. Slade, defending the driver, asked the police whether they had any "proper authority "to bring the case. An offence of this nature, he said, could only be brought by specified persons. " Unless the police can produce authority by the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Licensing Authority, the Chief Officer of Police, or the county or district council, there is no case to answer."
In reply, the police produced a letter from the Licensing Authority, but the chairman, Mr. T. W. Grimmer, dismissed the case.