Whalley reduces 0-licence
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• The authorisation on the licence held by Norma Cain, trading as TC Skip Hire of Sheffield, has been cut from four vehicles to one by North East Licensing Authority Frederick Whalley. It will now expire at the end of April, but the LA said he would not revoke the licence because maintenance problems had arisen out of ignorance.
Questioned by Whalley, Mrs Cain's husband Edward said that he was the transport manager. The licence had been applied for in his wife's name while he was in hospital.
Whalley said it seemed that Mr Cain was using his wife as a front to operate the business, but Cain maintained it was his wife's business. He said that the two drivers employed were
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interviewed by his wife and she had signed their letters of employment.
Whalley said he was not very happy about the situation, and commented that all the correspondence indicated that Mr Cain had been in charge of things. It was significant that TC Skip Hire stood for Ted Cain, he said.
DTp vehicle examiner Norman Wright said that he visited the firm following the issue of two immediate prohibitions.
No records were available, and he was told they had been stolen. The vehicles were in a deplorable condition and there were no current MoT certificates or vehicle excise licences, although vehicles were being operated. The maintenance contractor told him that no work had been carried out on the firm's vehicles since March 1988.
However, he had recently inspected the only vehicle currently being operated and found it to be in a satisfactory condition.
Wright said that he was not aware that the licence was in the name of Norma Cain. He had never had any dealings with Norma Cain and she had never been at the premises. Mr Cain seemed to manage the day-to-day running of the business.
Mr Cain said that they were only operating one vehicle and they had a new maintenance contract. The trouble started while he was in hospital. His wife was told by the accountant to put the licence in her name; if another application was made, it would be in his name.